Route means the path you follow to get from one place to another. When you walk the same route to school every day, you're taking a specific series of streets and turns that lead from your house to the building. A delivery driver follows a route that connects all the houses where packages need to be dropped off.

The word applies to all kinds of journeys. A hiking route might wind through forests and over mountains. A bus route traces the path the bus takes through the city, stopping at the same places each time. Ships follow shipping routes across the ocean, and airplanes fly along designated routes between airports.

People often choose routes for specific reasons: the fastest route, the safest route, or the most scenic route. Sometimes you might need to find an alternate route when your usual path is blocked by construction or traffic. The famous Route 66 was a highway that connected Chicago to Los Angeles, and it became a symbol of American road travel.

The word route can also be a verb meaning to send something along a particular path. A company might route an important letter through express mail, or a phone system might route your call to the right department.