Meaning & use
taxiway
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountabletechnical
A marked path at an airport that aircraft use to move between the runways and the terminals, hangars or parking areas.
Grammar: A plural form is common: aircraft queue along the taxiways.
Patterns
- on the taxiway
- along a taxiway
- taxiway to something
The plane turned off the runway and rolled onto the taxiway.
Several jets waited on the taxiway for permission to take off.
Lights along the taxiway guide pilots at night.
Word forms
| plural | taxiways |
|---|
Common combinations
- on the taxiway
- The aircraft stopped on the taxiway while a vehicle crossed the runway.
- taxiway lights
- Blue taxiway lights lined the path to the gate.
- cross a taxiway
- Service vehicles must cross the taxiway only with permission.
- taxiway closure
- A taxiway closure caused long delays for departing flights.
- exit onto a taxiway
- After landing, the pilot exited onto a taxiway toward the terminal.
Synonyms and how they differ
- runway
- This is the strip used for taking off and landing, whereas a taxiway is only for moving around the airport at low speed.
- apron
- This is the open area where aircraft park, load and unload, while the taxiway is the road leading to it.
- tarmac
- This is an informal word for any paved airport surface, and is less precise than taxiway.
Word family
Commonly confused: taxiway or runway?
taxiway vs runway
Aircraft take off and land on a runway at high speed. A taxiway connects runways to the terminal and is used at slow speed.
Practice
After landing, the aircraft left the runway and moved along the ___ to reach the gate.
Choose one answer.
A taxiway is the path planes use between runway and terminal. A flightpath is a route in the air and a crosswind is a wind direction.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “taxiway”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.