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On the way   /ɑn ðə weɪ/   Listen
noun
Way  n.  
1.
That by, upon, or along, which one passes or processes; opportunity or room to pass; place of passing; passage; road, street, track, or path of any kind; as, they built a way to the mine. "To find the way to heaven." "I shall him seek by way and eke by street." "The way seems difficult, and steep to scale." "The season and ways were very improper for his majesty's forces to march so great a distance."
2.
Length of space; distance; interval; as, a great way; a long way. "And whenever the way seemed long, Or his heart began to fail."
3.
A moving; passage; procession; journey. "I prythee, now, lead the way."
4.
Course or direction of motion or process; tendency of action; advance. "If that way be your walk, you have not far." "And let eternal justice take the way."
5.
The means by which anything is reached, or anything is accomplished; scheme; device; plan. "My best way is to creep under his gaberdine." "By noble ways we conquest will prepare." "What impious ways my wishes took!"
6.
Manner; method; mode; fashion; style; as, the way of expressing one's ideas.
7.
Regular course; habitual method of life or action; plan of conduct; mode of dealing. "Having lost the way of nobleness." "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." "When men lived in a grander way."
8.
Sphere or scope of observation. "The public ministers that fell in my way."
9.
Determined course; resolved mode of action or conduct; as, to have one's way.
10.
(Naut.)
(a)
Progress; as, a ship has way.
(b)
pl. The timbers on which a ship is launched.
11.
pl. (Mach.) The longitudinal guides, or guiding surfaces, on the bed of a planer, lathe, or the like, along which a table or carriage moves.
12.
(Law) Right of way. See below.
By the way, in passing; apropos; aside; apart from, though connected with, the main object or subject of discourse.
By way of, for the purpose of; as being; in character of.
Covert way. (Fort.) See Covered way, under Covered.
In the family way. See under Family.
In the way, so as to meet, fall in with, obstruct, hinder, etc.
In the way with, traveling or going with; meeting or being with; in the presence of.
Milky way. (Astron.) See Galaxy, 1.
No way, No ways. See Noway, Noways, in the Vocabulary.
On the way, traveling or going; hence, in process; advancing toward completion; as, on the way to this country; on the way to success.
Out of the way. See under Out.
Right of way (Law), a right of private passage over another's ground. It may arise either by grant or prescription. It may be attached to a house, entry, gate, well, or city lot, as well as to a country farm.
To be under way, or To have way (Naut.), to be in motion, as when a ship begins to move.
To give way. See under Give.
To go one's way, or To come one's way, to go or come; to depart or come along.
To go one's way to proceed in a manner favorable to one; of events.
To come one's way to come into one's possession (of objects) or to become available, as an opportunity; as, good things will come your way.
To go the way of all the earth or
to go the way of all flesh to die.
To make one's way, to advance in life by one's personal efforts.
To make way. See under Make, v. t.
Ways and means.
(a)
Methods; resources; facilities.
(b)
(Legislation) Means for raising money; resources for revenue.
Way leave, permission to cross, or a right of way across, land; also, rent paid for such right. (Eng)
Way of the cross (Eccl.), the course taken in visiting in rotation the stations of the cross. See Station, n., 7 (c).
Way of the rounds (Fort.), a space left for the passage of the rounds between a rampart and the wall of a fortified town.
Way pane, a pane for cartage in irrigated land. See Pane, n., 4. (Prov. Eng.)
Way passenger, a passenger taken up, or set down, at some intermediate place between the principal stations on a line of travel.
Ways of God, his providential government, or his works.
Way station, an intermediate station between principal stations on a line of travel, especially on a railroad.
Way train, a train which stops at the intermediate, or way, stations; an accommodation train.
Way warden, the surveyor of a road.
Synonyms: Street; highway; road. Way, Street, Highway, Road. Way is generic, denoting any line for passage or conveyance; a highway is literally one raised for the sake of dryness and convenience in traveling; a road is, strictly, a way for horses and carriages; a street is, etymologically, a paved way, as early made in towns and cities; and, hence, the word is distinctively applied to roads or highways in compact settlements. "All keep the broad highway, and take delight With many rather for to go astray." "There is but one road by which to climb up." "When night Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine."


preposition
On  prep.  The general signification of on is situation, motion, or condition with respect to contact or support beneath; as:
1.
At, or in contact with, the surface or upper part of a thing, and supported by it; placed or lying in contact with the surface; as, the book lies on the table, which stands on the floor of a house on an island. "I stood on the bridge at midnight."
2.
To or against the surface of; used to indicate the motion of a thing as coming or falling to the surface of another; as, rain falls on the earth. "Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken."
3.
Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with; as, to play on a violin or piano. Hence, figuratively, to work on one's feelings; to make an impression on the mind.
4.
At or near; adjacent to; indicating situation, place, or position; as, on the one hand, on the other hand; the fleet is on the American coast.
5.
In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series; as, heaps on heaps; mischief on mischief; loss on loss; thought on thought.
6.
Indicating dependence or reliance; with confidence in; as, to depend on a person for assistance; to rely on; hence, indicating the ground or support of anything; as, he will promise on certain conditions; to bet on a horse; based on certain assumptions.
7.
At or in the time of; during; as, on Sunday we abstain from labor. See At (synonym).
8.
At the time of; often conveying some notion of cause or motive; as, on public occasions, the officers appear in full dress or uniform; the shop is closed on Sundays. Hence, In consequence of, or following; as, on the ratification of the treaty, the armies were disbanded; start on the count of three.
9.
Toward; for; indicating the object of some passion; as, have pity or compassion on him.
10.
At the peril of, or for the safety of. "Hence, on thy life."
11.
By virtue of; with the pledge of; denoting a pledge or engagement, and put before the thing pledged; as, he affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honor.
12.
To the account of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon; as, on us be all the blame; a curse on him. "His blood be on us and on our children."
13.
In reference or relation to; as, on our part expect punctuality; a satire on society.
14.
Of. (Obs.) "Be not jealous on me." "Or have we eaten on the insane root That takes the reason prisoner?" Note: Instances of this usage are common in our older writers, and are sometimes now heard in illiterate speech.
15.
Occupied with; in the performance of; as, only three officers are on duty; on a journey; on the job; on an assignment; on a case; on the alert.
16.
In the service of; connected with; a member of; as, he is on a newspaper; on a committee. Note: On and upon are in general interchangeable. In some applications upon is more euphonious, and is therefore to be preferred; but in most cases on is preferable.
17.
In reference to; about; concerning; as, to think on it; to meditate on it.
On a bowline. (Naut.) Same as Closehauled.
On a wind, or On the wind (Naut.), sailing closehauled.
On a sudden. See under Sudden.
On board, On draught, On fire, etc. See under Board, Draught, Fire, etc.
On it, On't, of it. (Obs. or Colloq.)
On shore, on land; to the shore.
On the road, On the way, On the wing, etc. See under Road, Way, etc.
On to, upon; on; to; sometimes written as one word, onto, and usually called a colloquialism; but it may be regarded in analogy with into. "They have added the -en plural form on to an elder plural." "We see the strength of the new movement in the new class of ecclesiastics whom it forced on to the stage."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"On the way" Quotes from Famous Books



... to me, was when Ned and the two girls and I were returning with our skates from an afternoon spent on Beekman's pond. Large flakes were falling softly on snow already laid. Darkness had caught up with us on the way home, and when we came in sight of the cheery light enframing the Faringfields' wide front door, and showing also from the windows at one side, I was not sorry I was to eat supper with them that evening, my mother having gone sleighing to visit the Murrays at Incledon, with whom she was ...
— Philip Winwood • Robert Neilson Stephens
... While we were on the way too Fort Pitt, a letter was received from the Rev. John McDougall, of Calgary, stating that troops were coming through from Edmonton, and that they would make short work of Big Bear's band for the murders they had committed at Frog Lake. They were ...
— Two months in the camp of Big Bear • Theresa Gowanlock and Theresa Delaney
... known to readers; except the following small circumstance, which occurred in his late transit, flight, or whatever we may call it, to Mannheim, and is pleasantly made notable to us by Wilhelmina. "His Highness on the way from Munchen," intimates our Princess, "passed through Baireuth in a very bad post-chaise." This, as we elsewhere pick out, was on January 16th; Karl Albert in post-haste for the marriage-ceremony, which takes place at Mannheim to-morrow. [Adelung, iii. A, 51.] "My Margraf, ...
— History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. XIII. (of XXI.) • Thomas Carlyle
... 'use me as you will!' And once more, but now with a great air of deference, he offered her the conduct of his arm. She took it with a sigh that struck him to the heart; and they began once more to trace the deserted streets. But now her steps, as though exhausted by emotion, began to linger on the way; she leaned the more heavily upon his arm; and he, like the parent bird, stooped fondly above his drooping convoy. Her physical distress was not accompanied by any failing of her spirits; and hearing her strike so soon into a playful and ...
— The Dynamiter • Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny van de Grift Stevenson
... Buck," he said, with what seemed unnecessary emphasis. "I've thought a heap on the way back—home. It seems to me I'm not acting square by you. And I've made up my mind." He paused. Buck did not change his position, and his eyes were carefully avoiding those of his companion. Then the Padre went on with a decision that somehow lacked confidence. "You must take half the money, and—and ...
— The Golden Woman - A Story of the Montana Hills • Ridgwell Cullum


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