on the road
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Progressing towards; as, On the road to recovery, said also of actors when "on tour," and of commercial travellers.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Examples
There was a detour on the road.Trên đường có một khúc ngoặt.
A bird was perched on the road sign.Một con chim đậu lên biển báo giao thông.
Tatoeba sentence #2268680 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “on the road” mean?
Progressing towards; as, On the road to recovery, said also of actors when "on tour," and of commercial travellers.
Is “on the road” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.