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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Path Meaning, Examples, and Common Usage in English (3 meaning)

Meaning 1：walking track (path)

path 🔊

/pæθ/

A narrow way for walking, often through a park or field, made by people or animals walking there many times.

Narrow dirt path winding through a green forest with sunlight

walking track 🔊

➕

/ˈwɔːkɪŋ træk/

A narrow route for pedestrians, often unpaved, formed by repeated foot traffic.

📁 Category：Natural Geography 🔖 Level：elementary

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Originates from Old English 'pæth', related to Dutch 'pad' and German 'Pfad'.

💡 Mnemonic

Picture a 'path' with a signpost: P-A-T-H stands for 'Personal Adventure Trail Head'.

📖 Example

We followed the winding path through the park until we reached a beautiful little lake. 🔊 We followed the winding path through the park until we reached a beautiful little lake.

🔗 Collocations

follow a path – walk along a route

winding path – curving route

dirt path – unpaved trail

🔄 Synonyms

trail (n.) – A rough path across countryside or through a forest.

track (n.) – A mark or line left by something that has passed; also a path.

footpath (n.) – A path for pedestrians only.

🚫 Antonyms

road (n.) – A wide way leading from one place to another, usually paved.

highway (n.) – A main road for fast travel.

🌱 Derivatives

pathless (adj.) – Having no path.

pathway (n.) – A path or route.

📖 Cultural Story

Since Old English, 'path' has denoted a footway. In computing, the term was adopted in the 1960s to describe the route to a file in a directory structure.

Meaning 2：file location route (path)

path 🔊

/pæθ/

The line along which something or someone moves, or the set of actions to reach a goal.

Glowing blue dotted line connecting colorful icons on dark background

file location route 🔊

➕

/faɪl ləʊˈkeɪʃən ruːt/

The sequence of directories that leads to a specific file or folder in a computer's file system.

📁 Category：Technological Inventions 🔖 Level：intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

To open the file, you need to know its exact path on the computer, like 'C:\\Documents\\myfile.txt'. 🔊 To open the file, you need to know its exact path on the computer, like 'C:\\Documents\\myfile.txt'.

🔗 Collocations

file path – the address of a file

absolute path – full path from root directory

path name – string specifying a location

🔄 Synonyms

directory (n.) – A folder in a computer file system.

route (n.) – The way taken to get from a start to a finish (also used in computing).

🌱 Derivatives

pathname (n.) – The name of a path.

Meaning 3：life direction (path)

path 🔊

/pæθ/

A way of life or a course of action that someone chooses.

Hand pointing at a decision map with multiple future icons

life direction 🔊

➕

/laɪf dɪˈrekʃən/

A particular course of action or way of living that someone decides to follow.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

After high school, she chose the path of studying art history, which eventually led her to work in a museum. 🔊 After high school, she chose the path of studying art history, which eventually led her to work in a museum.

🔗 Collocations

career path – sequence of jobs in a profession

choose a path – decide on a course of action

path to success – way leading to achievement

🔄 Synonyms

course (n.) – The way something progresses or is done.

journey (n.) – An act of traveling from one place to another (metaphorical).

🚫 Antonyms

dead end (n.) – A situation with no progress.