Meaning & use
Silk Road
Last updated
Meaning
proper nounproper
the ancient network of trade routes that linked China with the Mediterranean and exchanged goods, ideas, and cultures
Grammar: Capitalize both words; usually used with 'the': the Silk Road.
Patterns
- the Silk Road
- along the Silk Road
- trade on the Silk Road
Merchants carried silk, spices, and glass along the Silk Road.
The Silk Road connected cities in Asia with ports on the Mediterranean.
Historians study how religions and inventions traveled the Silk Road.
Common combinations
- along the Silk Road
- Caravans moved slowly along the Silk Road.
- the ancient Silk Road
- The ancient Silk Road was not one road but many routes.
- trade routes of the Silk Road
- The trade routes of the Silk Road crossed deserts and mountains.
- Silk Road cities
- Samarkand was one of the great Silk Road cities.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Silk Routes
- A less common plural form that stresses there were several routes rather than a single road.
Commonly confused: Silk Road or Silk Route?
Silk Road vs Silk Route
A variant name for the same historical network; 'Silk Road' is the more usual form.
Practice
The Silk Road was important mainly because it ______.
Choose one answer.
The Silk Road was a network of routes that linked China with the Mediterranean, not one road or a purely military project. The other options describe it too narrowly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Silk Road”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.