RIGHT OF WAY Definition & Meaning

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right of way

or ��-�Ǵ�-�ɲ��

noun

plural rights of way, right of ways.

a common law or statutory right granted to a vehicle, as an airplane or boat, to proceed ahead of another.
a path or route that may lawfully be used.
a right of passage, as over another's land.
the strip of land acquired for use by a railroad for tracks.
land covered by a public road.
land over which a power line passes.
Fencing. the right to attack or continue an attack, and thus to be credited with a hit, by virtue of having first extended the sword arm or having parried the opponent's attack.

right of way

noun

the right of one vehicle or vessel to take precedence over another, as laid down by law or custom
1. the legal right of someone to pass over another's land, acquired by grant or by long usage
2. the path or road used by this right
the strip of land over which a power line, railway line, road, etc, extends

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of right of way¹

First recorded in 1760–70

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The rules surrounding right of way aren't always clear and are often flouted, making it difficult for cyclists to safely navigate.

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Legislation requiring local authorities to create a "definitive map" showing public rights of way in their area was passed in 1949.

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Scheduled monument sites identified by Right to Roam campaigners as having no existing legal rights of way to them include hillforts, holy wells, henges and ancient burial mounds known as barrows.

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They looked down and gave the snake the right of way.

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The government has set a deadline of 2031 for all rights of way in England and Wales to be added to an official map.

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