boulevard

boulevard — noun

1. a city street that is wide and often has trees at the sides or in the middle.

1.nounB2
Definition

a city street that is wide and often has trees at the sides or in the middle.

Example

Bao rented a room on Ocean Boulevard, above a bright noodle shop.

on + Boulevard (street name)

Palm trees and hotels line the boulevard near the public beach.

typical scene: trees and hotels

Common collocations
  • wide boulevard
  • tree-lined boulevard
  • busy boulevard
  • down the boulevard
  • on [Name] Boulevard
Synonyms
  • avenue

    also a broad city street, but not always as grand or tree-planted

  • street

    general word; does not suggest width or design

  • thoroughfare

    formal term that emphasizes traffic passing through

Antonyms
  • alley

    a much narrower passage between or behind buildings

  • lane

    usually a narrower road, often residential or rural

Grammar Patterns

Boulevard + proper noun (street name)

on/along/down + boulevard

Usage Note

Often capitalised when it forms part of an official street name, as in 'Sunset Boulevard'. Compared with 'street', it usually suggests more width and a planned, tree-lined layout.

Common Mistakes

I live in Sunset Boulevard.
I live on Sunset Boulevard.
use 'on' before the name of a boulevard.
It is a very big boulevard.
It is a very wide boulevard.
English usually describes a boulevard by its width, not its overall size.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These words all name public ways, but boulevard highlights width and design. Street is the broadest everyday word and says nothing about trees, a central strip, or an impressive setting. Avenue is also often broad and may appear in official street names, but it does not always suggest the same grand, planned look. Boulevard often fits city centres, shopping districts, or roads near the sea, where the street itself is part of the view. Promenade is different again: it is mainly a place for walking, often by the water, rather than a normal traffic road. So you can walk along a promenade, but cars and buses usually move along a boulevard.

boulevard ↗avenue ↗street ↗promenade

Common collocations

Nouns

  • boulevard traffic
  • boulevard trees
  • boulevard hotels

Phrases

  • live on [Name] Boulevard
  • walk along the boulevard
  • turn onto the boulevard

Prepositions

  • on the boulevard
  • along the boulevard
  • down the boulevard

Etymology

Middle DutchFrenchEnglish

Boulevard came into English from French 'boulevard'. Earlier, the French word referred to a defensive wall or earthwork, and it was borrowed from Middle Dutch 'bolwerc', the source of English 'bulwark'. In many European cities, broad roads were later laid out where old walls had stood, so the name for the wall gradually became the name for the road built in its place.