Via means “by way of” or “through.” It describes the route, method, or means you use to get somewhere or do something.

When you travel via Chicago to reach New York, you're going through Chicago on your way. When you send a message via email, you're using email as your method of communication. When news spreads via word of mouth, it travels from person to person through conversation.

Today we still use it the same way: via Route 66, via the Panama Canal, via satellite.

You'll often see via on shipping labels (shipped via FedEx), in travel itineraries (flying to Tokyo via San Francisco), or when describing how you learned something (I heard via my friend that school starts late tomorrow).

The word can describe physical routes or more abstract pathways. You might solve a math problem via a clever shortcut, learn a new skill via practice, or make a friend via a shared interest in robotics. In each case, via points to the path or method that connects where you started and where you ended up.