path

UK: /ˈpɑːθ/ US: /pæθ/ ,(path, päth)

Inflections of 'path' (n): npl: paths

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

path /pæθ/   n. [countable] , pl. paths (paᵺz, paths).

1. a way or small passage on the ground beaten by human or animal feet:
   a path through the woods.
2. a narrow walk or way:
   a bicycle path.
3. a route, course, or track along which something moves:
   the path of a hurricane.
4. a course or direction of action, conduct, or procedure:
   What path should we follow in hiring a new secretary?
5. Computing (in computer operating systems)
   • a listing of the route through directories that locates and names a certain file or program on a disk drive.

-path-, root. 

1. -path- comes from Greek, where it has the meaning "suffering;
   disease;
   feeling.'' This meaning is found in such words as: antipathy, apathetic, apathy, empathy, homeopathy, pathetic, pathology, pathos, psychopath, sympathetic, sympathize, sympathy, telepathy.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

path  (path, päth), n., pl. paths (paᵺz, päᵺz, paths, päths).

1. a way beaten, formed, or trodden by the feet of persons or animals.
2. a narrow walk or way: a path through a garden;
   a bicycle path.
3. a route, course, or track along which something moves:
   the path of a hurricane.
4. a course of action, conduct, or procedure:
   the path of righteousness.
5. Mathematics Math. a continuous curve that connects two or more points.
6. Computing the sequence of steps that a computer follows in carrying out a routine, as in storing and retrieving a file at a specific location.
7. Idioms cross one's path, to encounter or meet unexpectedly:
   Tragedy crossed our path again.

• bef. 900; Middle English; Old English pæth; cognate with German Pfad

Synonyms

• 1. footpath, pathway.
  Path, lane, trail are passages or routes not as wide as a way or road. A path is a way for passing on foot; a track, beaten by feet, not specially constructed, is often along the side of a road: a path through a field. A lane is a narrow road or track, generally between fields, often enclosed with fences or trees; sometimes it is an alley or narrow road between buildings in towns: a lane leading to a farmhouse; Drury Lane. A trail is a rough way made or worn through woods, or across mountains, prairies, or other untraveled regions: an Indian trail.

path-, 

1. var. of patho- before a vowel: pathosis.

-path, 

1. a combining form occurring in personal nouns corresponding to abstract nouns ending in -pathy, with the general sense "one practicing such a treatment'' (osteopath) or "one suffering from such an ailment'' ( psychopath).

path., 

1. Pathology pathological.
2. Pathology pathology.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

path / pɑːθ/ noun ( paths / pɑːðz/)

1. a road or way, esp a narrow trodden track
2. a surfaced walk, as through a garden
3. the course or direction in which something moves: the path of a whirlwind
4. a course of conduct: the path of virtue
5. the directions for reaching a particular file or directory, as traced hierarchically through each of the parent directories usually from the root; the file or directory and all parent directories are separated from one another in the path by slashes

Etymology: Old English pæth; related to Old High German, German Pfad

ˈpathless adjective

ˈpathlessness noun

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

patho-, 

1. a combining form meaning "suffering,'' "disease,'' "feeling,'' used in the formation of compound words: pathology.

Also, esp. before a vowel, path-. Cf. -path, -pathia, -pathic, -pathy. 

• see pathos combining form representing Greek páthos

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

-path combining_form:in_noun:countable

1. denoting a person with a specified disease or disorder: neuropath
2. denoting a practitioner of a particular method of treatment: osteopath

Etymology: back formation from -pathy

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

path. / pæθ/ abbreviation

1. pathological
2. pathology