pathway

pathway — noun

1. a narrow route made for people to walk on, especially outdoors.

1.nounA2
Definition

a narrow route made for people to walk on, especially outdoors.

Example

A stone pathway leads from the gate to the red front door.

pathway to + place

Visitors stayed on the wet pathway after the grass was cut.

stay on the pathway

Common collocations
  • stone pathway
  • garden pathway
  • pathway through the park
  • stay on the pathway
Synonyms
  • path

    the broadest everyday word for a way people walk along

  • footpath

    specifically for people on foot; common in British English

  • trail

    often rougher and more natural, especially in hills or woods

Grammar Patterns

a pathway through a garden

a pathway to a place

stay on the pathway

Usage Note

Often used with physical details such as stone, garden, forest, or school grounds. Distinguish from noun/2, which is figurative and describes progress toward a result.

Common Mistakes

The nurse waited in the hospital pathway.
The nurse waited in the hospital corridor.
'pathway' usually means an outdoor walking route, not an indoor hall.

2. an ordered set of steps that gives someone a way to reach a goal.

2.nounB2
Definition

an ordered set of steps that gives someone a way to reach a goal.

Example

The school offers a pathway into nursing for adult learners.

pathway into + field

The factory training course gave Ravi a pathway to a full-time job.

pathway to + goal

Common collocations
  • career pathway
  • pathway to success
  • pathway into higher study
  • clear pathway forward
Synonyms
  • route

    emphasizes getting from a starting point to an end result

  • way

    more general and less structured than 'pathway'

  • avenue

    more formal and often used for opportunities or progress

Grammar Patterns

a pathway to something

a pathway into something

a pathway for doing something

Usage Note

Common after 'to', 'into', and 'for'. Distinguish from noun/1, which names a real walking track, and from noun/3, which is a formal plan inside healthcare.

Common Mistakes

Email is the pathway to ask one question.
Email is one way to ask a question.
this sense usually suggests a fuller route with stages or progress over time.

3. an agreed course of medical care that shows what should happen at each stage of

3.nounC1
Definition

an agreed course of medical care that shows what should happen at each stage of treatment.

Example

The clinic uses one pathway for children with severe asthma.

pathway for + patient group

After the scan, doctors changed Maya's treatment pathway immediately.

treatment pathway

Common collocations
  • clinical pathway
  • treatment pathway
  • care pathway
  • patient pathway
Synonyms
  • protocol

    often stricter and more rule-based

  • care plan

    a broader term for planned medical support

  • treatment plan

    focuses on planned treatment rather than the full patient route

Grammar Patterns

a treatment pathway

a care pathway for someone

change a pathway

Usage Note

Common with words such as 'care', 'treatment', and 'clinical'. The subject is often a hospital, clinic, or care team. Distinguish from noun/2 because this sense names an organized plan inside healthcare.

Common Mistakes

The doctor gave her a new pathway.
The doctor put her on a new treatment pathway.
in medical English, the word usually names an organized plan of care, not a single drug.

4. a route in the body, or from one body to another, that carries signals, disease,

4.nounC1
Definition

a route in the body, or from one body to another, that carries signals, disease, or similar effects.

Example

Mosquito bites are one pathway for the virus to reach people.

pathway for + disease spread

Pain signals travel along a pathway from the hand to the brain.

travel along a pathway

Common collocations
  • infection pathway
  • neural pathway
  • pathway for transmission
  • pathway to the brain
Synonyms
  • route

    the most general word for a line of movement

  • channel

    suggests a passage that carries something through

  • tract

    technical and often used for a connected body structure

Grammar Patterns

a pathway for something

travel along a pathway

block a pathway

Usage Note

Often used with verbs such as 'open', 'block', and 'travel along'. Distinguish from noun/5: noun/4 is the route something moves on, while noun/5 is the whole chain of chemical steps.

5. a linked chain of chemical changes in a living thing, where one step leads to th

5.nounC2
Definition

a linked chain of chemical changes in a living thing, where one step leads to the next.

Example

Inside muscle cells, this pathway turns sugar into energy very quickly.

pathway turns A into B

In mice, the drug slows a pathway that helps the tumor grow.

drug slows a pathway

Common collocations
  • biochemical pathway
  • metabolic pathway
  • signaling pathway
  • pathway analysis
Synonyms
  • process

    broader and less technical than 'pathway'

  • cascade

    emphasizes one event setting off later ones

  • sequence

    focuses on order, not the biological system involved

Grammar Patterns

a biochemical pathway

a metabolic pathway

a pathway that does something

Usage Note

Common in biology writing with words such as 'biochemical', 'signaling', and 'metabolic'. Distinguish from noun/4: noun/5 is a sequence of reactions, not a route carrying signals or infection.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Path' is the broadest everyday word for a route you walk along. 'Pathway' often suggests something a little more shaped, planned, or clearly marked, such as a garden pathway or a paved route in a park, and it also extends easily to figurative meanings like a career pathway. 'Footpath' is more specific: it is for people on foot, and it is especially common in British English. 'Trail' usually suggests rougher or more natural ground in woods, hills, or open country. You might lay a stone pathway through a garden, follow a footpath across a field, or hike a mountain trail. If you just need the most general word, choose 'path'.

pathway ↗path ↗footpath ↗trail ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • clear pathway
  • direct pathway

Phrases

  • create a pathway
  • open a pathway

Prepositions

  • pathway to
  • pathway for
  • pathway into
  • along a pathway

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

A compound formed in English from 'path' and 'way'. Both parts are old Germanic words that were already in Old English. The compound first referred to a real walking route, and later widened to abstract routes for progress or achievement, as well as technical routes in medicine and biology.