beeline

/ˌbiˌˈlaɪn/

Other forms: beelines

A beeline is the swiftest, most direct route between two points. If you are shopping at the mall on a weekend afternoon and you see an empty parking space, you should make a beeline for it or risk circling the lot for hours.

The word beeline combines the words bee and line. The idea behind the word is the belief that a bee, when it is done feeding, will take the shortest path back to its hive without delay or meandering. So beeline not only has the sense of being a direct route, but also that there is some haste behind the action. If you make a beeline for the chocolate at a party, you went straight to the dessert table without eating dinner first.

Definitions of beeline

1. noun

   the most direct route
   “he made a beeline for the bathroom”

   type of:

   itinerary, path, route

   an established line of travel or access