Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A public way or thoroughfare in a city or town, usually with a sidewalk or sidewalks.
  • noun Such a public way considered apart from the sidewalks.
  • noun A public way or road along with the houses or buildings abutting it.
  • noun The people living, working, or habitually gathering in or along a street.
  • noun A district, such as Wall Street in New York City, that is identified with a specific profession. Often used with the.
  • noun The streets of a city viewed as the scene of crime, poverty, or dereliction.
  • noun The common public viewed as a repository of public attitudes and understanding.
  • adjective Near or giving passage to a street.
  • adjective Taking place in the street.
  • adjective Living or making a living on the streets.
  • adjective Performing on the street.
  • adjective Crude; vulgar.
  • adjective Appropriate for wear or use in public.
  • idiom (on/in) Without a job; idle.
  • idiom (on/in) Without a home; homeless.
  • idiom (on/in) Out of prison; at liberty.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A paved road; a highway.
  • noun A public way or road, whether paved or unpaved, in a village, town, or city, ordinarily including a sidewalk or sidewalks and a roadway, and having houses or town lots on one or both sides; a main way. in distinction from a lane or alley: as, a fashionable street; a street of shops. Abbreviated St., st. Compare road, 3.
  • noun The way for vehicles, between the curbs, as distinguished from the sidewalks: as, to walk in the street.
  • noun Hence, a path or passageway inclosed between continuous lines of objects; a track; a lane.
  • noun A path; a way.
  • noun The inhabitants of a street collectively.
  • noun Synonyms Road, etc. See way.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Originally, a paved way or road; a public highway; now commonly, a thoroughfare in a city or village, bordered by dwellings or business houses.
  • noun the roadway of a street{1}, as distinguished from the sidewalk.
  • noun the inhabitants of a particular street.
  • noun (Broker's Cant) that thoroughfare of a city where the leading bankers and brokers do business; also, figuratively, those who do business there.
  • noun not in prison, or released from prison.
  • noun etc. See under Arab, Broker, etc.
  • noun a door which opens upon a street, or is nearest the street.
  • noun a homeless person; a vagrant.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A paved part of road, usually in a village or a town.
  • noun A road as above but including the sidewalks (pavements) and buildings.
  • noun The people who live in such a road, as a neighborhood.
  • noun The people who spend a great deal of time on the street in urban areas, especially, the young, the poor, the unemployed, and those engaged in illegal activities.
  • noun slang Street talk or slang.
  • noun figuratively a large amount
  • noun poker slang Each of the three opportunities that players have to bet, after the flop, turn and river.
  • noun Illicit, contraband, especially of a drug
  • adjective slang Having street cred; conforming to modern urban trends.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the streets of a city viewed as a depressed environment in which there is poverty and crime and prostitution and dereliction
  • noun a situation offering opportunities
  • noun the part of a thoroughfare between the sidewalks; the part of the thoroughfare on which vehicles travel
  • noun people living or working on the same street
  • noun a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English strete, from Old English strǣt, strēt, from Late Latin strāta, paved road, from Latin, feminine past participle of sternere, to stretch, extend, pave; see ster- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English streete, strete, stret, strate, from Old English strǣt ("a road, a town-road, a street, a paved road, high road"), from West Germanic *strāta (“street”), an early borrowing from Late Latin (via) strāta ("paved (road)"), from strātus, past participle of sternō ("stretch out, spread, bestrew with, cover, pave"), from Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃- (“to stretch out, extend, spread”). Cognate with Scots stret, strete, streit ("street"), Eastern Frisian strete ("street"), West Frisian strjitte ("street"), Dutch straat ("street"), Low German strate ("street"), German Straße ("street"), Swedish stråt ("way, path"), Icelandic stræti ("street") (Scandinavian forms are borrowed from Old English), Portuguese estrada ("road, way, drive"), Italian strada ("road, street"). Related to Old English strēowian, strewian ("to strew, scatter"). More at strew.

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Examples

  • You mean the tax payers who are funding all the lovely looking during the day street lights that are shining up into the sky instead of down into the *street*?

    LIGHT POLLUTION: The continuing spread | Inhabitat 2006

  • On Claire's 'street with no name' in the little town of Bethlehem, 2009 yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = 'On Claire\'s \'street with no name\' in the little town of Bethlehem, 2009 '; yahooBuzzArticleSummary =' Article: "Do Americans understand what happens to children when they are buried alive?

    On Claire's 'street with no name' in the little town of Bethlehem, 2009 2009

  • It’s not cool to say the gaze is fine when its coming from an attractive, professional, nice young man across the bar or it’s fine when its the subject of the colloquial ‘no, he likes you, I’ve seen the way he looks at you,’ but the gaze is not ok when its just someone on the street, someone ’street’ looking or whatever.

    Thoughts on oppression, masculinity, power, the male gaze, street harassment, and slavery. « Gender Across Borders 2009

  • "Burst himself through my bedroom-door," continued Mrs Denman, "with lime and charcoal and brick-dust and water streaming down his face -- f-fo-olded me in his arms, bore me out into the street -- the _street_!

    Fighting the Flames 1859

  • UpdateCommand = "UPDATE prospects SET salespn = @salespn, class = @class, updated = GetDate (), company = @company, contact = @contact, title = @title, street = @street, city = @city, state

    ASP.NET Forums 2010

  • San Pancho's main street is cobblestoned, which is a true luxury in Mexico, especially in the rainy season.

    Playa San Francisco: San Pancho for music and art 2009

  • The main street is very busy weekend afternoons so is wise to pick other days or hours to visit there, but heading into Tzintzuntzan the highway just as easily bypasses the main street, though do visit the shops in Quiroga at some point in your stay.

    Road Trip From Mazamitla to Patzcuaro 2009

  • The main street is very busy weekend afternoons so is wise to pick other days or hours to visit there, but heading into Tzintzuntzan the highway just as easily bypasses the main street, though do visit the shops in Quiroga at some point in your stay.

    Road Trip From Mazamitla to Patzcuaro 2009

  • San Pancho's main street is cobblestoned, which is a true luxury in Mexico, especially in the rainy season.

    Playa San Francisco: San Pancho for music and art 2009

  • The main street is very busy weekend afternoons so is wise to pick other days or hours to visit there, but heading into Tzintzuntzan the highway just as easily bypasses the main street, though do visit the shops in Quiroga at some point in your stay.

    Road Trip From Mazamitla to Patzcuaro 2009

Comments

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  • Ain't none of y'all motherfucker more street than me

    February 17, 2007

  • A street man: a man with a hard life

    A street woman: a trollop.

    (see my list)

    June 13, 2008