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on the street

 - 5 dictionary results

street

  [street]
Use on the street in a Sentence
–noun
1. a public thoroughfare, usually paved, in a village, town, or city, including the sidewalk or sidewalks.
2. such a thoroughfare together with adjacent buildings, lots, etc.: Houses, lawns, and trees composed a very pleasant street.
3. the roadway of such a thoroughfare, as distinguished from the sidewalk: to cross a street.
4. a main way or thoroughfare, as distinguished from a lane, alley, or the like.
5. the inhabitants or frequenters of a street: The whole street gossiped about the new neighbors.
6. the Street, Informal.
a. the section of a city associated with a given profession or trade, esp. when concerned with business or finance, as Wall Street.
b. the principal theater and entertainment district of any of a number of U.S. cities.
–adjective
7. of, on, or adjoining a street: a street door just off the sidewalk.
8. taking place or appearing on the street: street fight; street musicians.
9. coarse; crude; vulgar: street language.
10. suitable for everyday wear: street clothes; street dress.
11. retail: the street price of a new computer; the street value of a drug.
—Idioms
12. on or in the street,
a. without a home: You'll be out on the street if the rent isn't paid.
b. without a job or occupation; idle.
c. out of prison or police custody; at liberty.
13. up one's street, British. alley 1 (def. 7).
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE strēt, strǣt; c. D straat, G Strasse; all ≪ L (via) strāta paved (road); see stratum

Related forms:
streetless, adjective
streetlike, adjective

Synonyms:
1. roadway, concourse. Street, alley, avenue, boulevard all refer to public ways or roads in municipal areas. A street is a road in a village, town, or city, esp. a road lined with buildings. An alley is a narrow street or footway, esp. at the rear of or between rows of buildings or lots. An avenue is properly a prominent street, often one bordered by fine residences and impressive buildings, or with a row of trees on each side. A boulevard is a beautiful, broad street, lined with rows of stately trees, esp. used as a promenade. In some cities street and avenue are used interchangeably, the only difference being that those running one direction (say, north and south) are given one designation and those crossing them are given the other.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To on the street
street   (strēt)   
n.  

    1. Abbr. St. A public way or thoroughfare in a city or town, usually with a sidewalk or sidewalks.

    2. Such a public way considered apart from the sidewalks: Don't play in the street.

    3. A public way or road along with the houses or buildings abutting it: lives on a quiet street.

  2. The people living, working, or habitually gathering in or along a street: The whole street protested the new parking regulations.

  3. Street A district, such as Wall Street in New York City, that is identified with a specific profession. Often used with the.

  4. The streets of a city viewed as the scene of crime, poverty, or dereliction.

  5. The common public viewed as a repository of public attitudes and understanding.

adj.  

  1. Near or giving passage to a street: a street door.

    1. Taking place in the street: a street brawl; street crime.

    2. Living or making a living on the streets: street people; a street vendor.

    3. Performing on the street: street musicians; a street juggler.

    4. Crude; vulgar: street language; street humor.

  3. Appropriate for wear or use in public: street clothes.


[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-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
on the street

  1. mod.
    using drugs; selling drugs; looking for drugs. (Drugs.) : Fred spent a year on the street before he was arrested.
  2. mod.
    engaged in prostitution. : Mary said, “What am I supposed to do—go on the street?” , All three of them went on the street to earn enough money to live.
  3. mod.
    widely known. : It's on the street. There isn't anyone who hasn't heard it.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

street 
O.E. stret (Mercian), stræt (W.Saxon), early W.Gmc. borrowing from L.L. strata, used elliptically for via strata "paved road," from fem. pp. of L. sternere "lay down, spread out, pave," from PIE *stre-to- "to stretch, extend," from base *stere- "to spread, extend, stretch out" (see structure). The Latin is also the source of Sp. estrada, O.Fr. estrée, It. strada. Originally of Roman roads (Watling Street, Icknield Street, etc.), later in O.E. it acquired a dialectal sense of "straggling village." "In the Middle Ages, a road or way was merely a direction in which people rode or went, the name street being reserved for the made road." [Weekley] Used since c.1400 to mean "the people in the street;" modern sense of "the realm of the people as the source of political support" dates from 1931. Man in the street "ordinary person, non-expert" is attested from 1831. Street-car is attested from 1862. Street-walker "common prostitute" first recorded 1592. Street people is from 1967; street smarts is from 1972; street-credibility is from 1979.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

on the street

Also, in the street.

  1. Without a job, unemployed, as in After they fired her she was on the street for two years. [First half of 1900s]

  2. Without a regular place of residence, homeless, as in It's terrible to be on the street in winter. [Mid-1800s]

  3. Released from prison, as in One more year and he'll be back in the street. [First half of 1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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