What does street mean?
A street is a public route running through a town or city, usually bordered by buildings and provided with pavements or sidewalks. The word commonly refers to an entire urban thoroughfare, including its surrounding environment and activities, rather than only to a line of travel. It can also evoke public city life more broadly: “on the streets” may describe people spending much of their time in public, sometimes with implications of poverty, insecurity, or vulnerability. In older and formal contexts, “street” may refer to a road within a settlement. The term is closely associated with the historical development of towns and cities, and its unusual history comes from Latin: it ultimately derives from *strata*, the feminine form of *stratus*, meaning “paved,” a word used for a Roman road laid down in layers. Today, “street” remains a basic geographical and social term, useful whenever a distinction is needed between an urban public way and the broader concept of a road.
A public way in a town or city, usually running between buildings and typically having pavements or sidewalks.
"The new café occupies a narrow shopfront on a busy street."
In figurative use, the plural “streets” can mean public urban life or the social world outside the home.
To extend or lay out streets in an area, or to furnish an area with streets.
"The development plan streets the new housing estate with broad avenues and planted verges."
This use is relatively uncommon and is more typical of technical, planning, or historical writing.
The regular plural refers to multiple urban roads or, figuratively, to the world of public city life.
"Narrow streets wind between the old houses."
The word “street” preserves the memory of ancient Roman roads: it comes from the Latin *strata*, literally a paved road.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does street come from?
The English word descends from Old English *stræt*, borrowed from Late Latin *strata*, meaning “paved road.” The Latin expression *via strata*, “paved way,” referred to a road whose surface was formed in layers, as Roman roads commonly were. The English form was established by the medieval period, while words such as *stratum*, *stratify*, and *stratigraphy* preserve the same Latin root in different senses.
Related word forms
How street is actually used
In its concrete sense, “street” typically suggests a route through an urban or residential settlement, often including the pavement or sidewalk. Abstract uses such as “on the streets” or “the streets of the city” may refer broadly to urban life and can, depending on context, suggest poverty, homelessness, crime, or informal social conditions.
Easily confused with street
A street is normally a public route within a town or city, often lined with buildings and pavements, whereas a road is the broader term for any route used by vehicles.