boulevard

noun

bou·​le·​vard ˈbu̇-lə-ˌvärd 

ˈbü-,

 also  ˈbə-

: a broad often landscaped thoroughfare

Synonyms

• arterial
• artery
• avenue
• carriageway [British]
• drag
• drive
• expressway
• freeway
• high road
• highway
• pass
• pike
• road
• roadway
• route
• row
• street
• thoroughfare
• thruway
• trace
• turnpike
• way

Examples of boulevard in a Sentence

the city is celebrated for its broad, tree-lined boulevards

Recent Examples on the Web

By the 1950s, when the boulevard expanded to meet the new Schuylkill Expressway, it was lined with row houses and shops. —David Zipper, Vox, 13 Nov. 2024

Learn about the vast stretch of culture contained on one 27.4-mile boulevard. —L.a. Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2024

Motown Museum photos reveal celebrity pilgrimages to revered Detroit attraction Terry told the NBA teenager how Gordy had started his record company in this small house before expanding it to eight properties along the boulevard. —Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 27 Oct. 2024

Fall is arguably the best time to see the Austrian capital’s creamy Baroque architecture, leafy parks and grand boulevards. —Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, modification of Middle Dutch bolwerc bulwark

First Known Use

1763, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

boulevard

noun

bou·​le·​vard ˈbu̇l-ə-ˌvärd 

ˈbül-

: a wide avenue often having grass strips with trees along its center or sides

Etymology

from French boulevard "walkway lined with trees," derived from early Dutch bolwerc "bulwark, rampart"; so called because the earliest boulevards were at sites of razed fortifications — related to bulwark