way station

noun

1
: a station set between principal stations on a line of travel (such as a railroad)
2
: an intermediate stopping place

Examples of way station in a Sentence

a way station for truck drivers
Recent Examples on the Web That Underground Railroad, contrary to what many people think, was not an actual railroad, but was a network of locations of which churches, Black and white, became crucial way stations or stops along the pathway to freedom. Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2024 Every single one of the club’s previous triumphs in the Champions League has proved no more than a way station on a road to disappointment. Rory Smith, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024 In the United States, immigrant neighborhoods have typically functioned as liminal spaces, way stations for nascent Americans en route to a less conspicuous life. Ligaya Mishan David Chow, New York Times, 19 Sep. 2023 Today the David Dead Sea Resort and Spa serves as way station, as an evacuation camp for members of one the communities hit hardest by the Hamas surprise attack six weeks ago — one that lost 10 percent of its residents in a single day. William Booth, Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2023 Better to look to private equity or a consolidation inside of pure-play broadcast station groups (which may be a way station to private equity). Howard Homonoff, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 Kalamazoo, a small city in Western Michigan, is a way station along the drug trafficking corridor between Chicago and Detroit. Jan Hoffman, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023 Ludwig had heard of Terezin: The Nazis had established it as a way station to the notorious extermination camps such as Auschwitz and Dachau. Douglas Starr, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023 But there are reasons to hope that U.S. containment of China can be a temporary way station to a brighter future. Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 22 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'way station.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of way station was in 1840

Dictionary Entries Near way station

Cite this Entry

“Way station.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/way%20station. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

way station

noun
: a station or stopping place along a line of travel (as a railroad line)
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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