runway

/ˌrʌnˈweɪ/

/ˈrʌnweɪ/

Other forms: runways

A runway could be for an airplane or a fashion model. It’s the strip of land a plane uses to take off and land on, or a narrow platform that a model uses to show off the latest fashions.

A plane needs a runway of a certain length in order to gather enough speed to take off, and it likewise needs a long enough runway when it lands to slow down and come to a safe stop. Even the very shortest runways are more than 800 feet long — and the world's longest runway, at California's Edwards Air Force Base, is nearly 40,000 feet long. The original meaning of runway was "usual track of an animal."

Definitions of runway

1. noun

   a strip of level paved surface where planes can take off and land
   type of:

   paved surface

   a level horizontal surface covered with paving material
2. noun

   a narrow platform extending from the stage into the audience in a theater or nightclub etc.
   type of:

   platform

   a raised horizontal surface
3. noun

   a bar or pair of parallel bars of rolled steel making the railway along which railroad cars or other vehicles can roll
   synonyms: rail, rails, track

   types:

   third rail

   a rail through which electric current is supplied to an electric locomotive

   type of:

   bar

   a rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon
4. noun

   a chute down which logs can slide
   type of:

   chute, slide, slideway, sloping trough

   sloping channel through which things can descend