Road Vocabulary You Should Know: Easy English

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!

This is a classic (old, well known) joke in English. It’s the only joke I know about roads. Roads help us get from one place to another. We all travel on roads every day. It is important to know basic (easy) road vocabulary in English. If you know road vocabulary, you can travel easier. This week, learn some easy road vocabulary with us!

Lane

When you drive on a road, there are often lanes. A lane is how a road is split up. Some roads have three lanes. This means they are wide enough for three cars. Other roads only have one lane. That road is only wide enough for one car. Lanes are divided by painted lines on the road. Larger roads have more lanes. I’ve heard of roads that even have seven lanes!

For example:

• Please move into the right lane. We have to turn right.
• The road in front of his house only has one lane. Not many people drive down his road.

Intersection

What do you call it when two roads meet? When they are in opposite directions (going different ways), this is called an intersection. Intersections may look like a large plus sign (+). An intersection is where you can turn onto another road. Intersections may also have places where people walking can cross the street. It’s important to be careful at intersections. There are a lot of people there, so always look before turning!

For example:

• The intersection in front of my work is where three roads meet. It’s very confusing!
• At the intersection, we need to turn left.

Traffic light

Traffic lights are an important part of road vocabulary. They tell people what to do. Traffic lights are along roads and at intersections. They have three different colored lights. The top light is red, which means “stop.” The middle light is yellow, and means “slow down.” The bottom light is green, and means “go.” You have to do what traffic lights say so that you don’t get in an accident.

For example:

• The traffic light is red, so we have to stop.
• All of the traffic lights were green this morning. I got to work very quickly.

Highway

When you are driving, how do you get between cities? A lot of people drive on the highway. A highway is a very large road with lots of cars. There are few traffic lights and people can drive fast. This is so people can get places quickly. In the United States, we call these roads highways. Other countries call them motorways. But you may know the highway as the Autobahn!

For example:

• The first time I drove on the highway I was very scared. Everyone drove so fast!
• I missed the sign for the highway, so I have to turn around.

Do you drive a lot? Do you know any other road vocabulary? Share what you know in the comments below!