Street Suffixes: How Many Kinds of Streets and Roads Are There? And, What Do They Mean?

As you jot down directions or address an envelope, perhaps you have realized that vast amount of types of roads. If you are like this curious writer, perhaps you even have become somewhat of a topography nerd.

There are, of course, roads and then streets, circles and ways. What do these all mean? What defines what a street is actually called? The United States Postal Service refers to these as street suffixes, or the name that follows the official street name. This article will define the meanings of various street suffixes, with some commentary on a few entries.

Alley- a narrow back street
As cities and towns grow, alleyways become addresses for apartments, etc.

Avenue- a broad roadway lined with trees, usually in the city or suburb.
Perhaps New York City's Fifth Avenue is the most well-known avenue.

Boulevard- a broad city street, often tree-lined and landscaped on the side or in center

Bypass- a road enabling motorists to avoid a city or other heavy traffic points or to drive around an obstruction.

Court- a short street, especially a wide alley walled by buildings on three sides.

Crescent- a curved street, often presenting a continuous façade, as of row houses
Snake Road in San Francisco comes to mind.

Drive- a road for vehicles, especially a scenic one, as in or along a park, or a short one, as an approach to a house; a lot of times can be private

Freeway- an express highway with no intersections, usually having traffic routed on and off by means of a cloverleaf.

Highway- a main road, especially one between towns or cities; also, any public road

Lane- a narrow way or road, sometimes between walls, hedges or houses; a lot of times this can be private

Parkway- a broad thoroughfare with a dividing strip or side strips planted with grass, trees, etc.

Path- a narrow walk or way

Pike- a broad highway designed for high-speed traffic, sometimes a toll must be paid

Place- a public square or short street with houses in a town.

Road- an open, generally public way for the passage of vehicles, people, and animals.

Route- a highway, usually numbered
Route 66 is probably the most famous route in the world

Street- a public way or thoroughfare in a city or town, usually with a sidewalk or sidewalks
Like 'road', when all else fails, city planners just call it "Oak Street" or "Main Street..."

Terrace- an open, often paved area connected to a house or an apartment house
It seems many townhouse communities or apartment complexes' addresses are likely to contain a terrace.

Trail- a marked or beaten path, as through woods or wilderness
Sullivan Trail is a road in the Poconos Mountains, Pa. named after a march from Col. Sullivan during a war. Many rural neighborhoods also have streets called "Something Trail."

Way- a road, path, or highway affording passage from one place to another.

Other street names that were not defined as such: annex, bend, holler, isle, manor, hill and more.

No matter where you get your mail or how you give directions the more interesting part of the address is probably not the suffix, but what the street was named for. Nonetheless, after reading this article perhaps you've gained better understanding of what types of roads and street suffixes there are.

Sources: dictionary.com, thesaurus.com, freedictionary.com, United States Postal Service