en route

American  

[ahn root, en, ahn root] / ɑn ˈrut, ɛn, ɑ̃ ˈrut /

adverb

1. on the way.

   The plane crashed en route from Cairo to Athens.

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en route British  

/ ɑ̃ rut, ɒn ˈruːt /

adverb

1. on or along the way; on the road

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en route Idioms  

1. On or along the way, as in We'll pick up Dan en route to the restaurant, or We can finish our discussion en route. This French term was adopted into English in the late 1700s.

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Etymology

Origin of en route

Borrowed into English from French around 1770–80

Example Sentences

He dialed into our interview from a tour bus departing from Austin, Texas, en route to the next concert venue on the Dinastía Tour by Peso Pluma, Tito Double P and friends.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

On Monday, Trump told the New York Post that negotiators were en route to Islamabad.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

While en route, the responding officers learned a person at the scene might be armed, according to the Long Beach Police Department.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026

In the space of a single offseason, returning largely the same core, they morphed into a superteam, torching their opponents by 8.3 points nightly en route to a 62-20 record.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

And as ridiculous as it had seemed en route, Kathy felt good.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers