right-of-way

noun

ˌrīt-ə(v)-ˈwā 

plural rights-of-way also right-of-ways

1

: a legal right of passage over another person's ground

2

a

: the area over which a right-of-way exists

b

: the strip of land over which is built a public road

c

: the land occupied by a railroad especially for its main line

d

: the land used by a public utility (as for a transmission line)

3

a

: a precedence in passing accorded to one vehicle over another by custom, decision, or statute

b

: the right of traffic to take precedence

c

: the right to take precedence over others

gave the bill the right-of-way in the Senate

Synonyms

• precedence
• priority

Examples of right-of-way in a Sentence

the bill for emergency aid was immediately granted right-of-way

Recent Examples on the Web

Yet using existing rights-of-way, rebuilding, upgrading, running lines underground, on-site generation and 70-some alternate routes and remedies are all conspicuously absent from a real discussion about the project — a discussion that has not actually happened. —Joe Vigliotti, Baltimore Sun, 10 Dec. 2024

The site is along the railroad right-of-way, Wood said, an area that the city wants to make into a pedestrian pathway. —Corina Vanek, Arizona Republic, 3 Dec. 2024

The right-of-way for the line is 150 feet wide, according to PSEG. —Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 21 Nov. 2024

They were extensively mapped by the Ordnance Survey (Britain’s still active national mapping agency) starting in the 18th century, and the national legal system now obligates landowners to keep public rights-of-way unobstructed. —Steven Potter, Outside Online, 19 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

right-of-way

noun

ˌrīt-ə(v)-ˈwā

plural rights-of-way

1

: a legal right to pass over another person's land

2

: the area over which a right-of-way exists

3

: the right of certain traffic to go ahead of other traffic

4

: priority sense 1

gave the bill the right-of-way in the Senate

Legal Definition

right-of-way

1

: an easement or servitude over another's land conferring a right of passage

2

a

: the area over which a right-of-way exists

b

: the strip of land over which is built a public road

c

: the land occupied by a railroad especially for its main line

d

: the land used by a public utility (as for a transmission line)

3

a

: a precedence in passing accorded to one vehicle over another by custom, decision, or statute

b

: the right of traffic to take precedence