English

Preposition

in the way of

1. (idiomatic) In relation to; in connection with; with respect to.
   • 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, ch. 12:

     He had seen Death many times, - met him in the way of trade, and got acquainted with him.

   • 1903, Robert Louis Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes, ch. 13:

     Of what that involves in the way of doctrine I have no idea nor the time to inform myself.

   • 2011 Sept. 2, Sonia van Gilder Cooke, "Harvard's a Bargain — If You're From the U.K.," Time:

     Certainly their extracurricular talents in the way of sport have not gone unnoticed.

2. (idiomatic) In or into a position of being likely to obtain, to attain, or to achieve.
   • 1882, Mark Twain, The Prince and the Pauper, ch. 34:

     The King sought out the farmer who had been branded and sold as a slave . . . and put him in the way of a comfortable livelihood.

   • 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, ch. 4:

     But it would certainly put her in the way of a grand marriage.

   • 1990, Stephen King, The Stand, ch. 59:

     I am in the way of knowing that one of you will not reach your destination, but I don’t know which will be the one to fall. I am in the way of knowing that the rest will be taken before this man Flagg, who is not a man at all but a supernatural being. [...] It’s not my place to argue with you, or convince, but only to put you in the way of understanding God’s plan for you.

3. (idiomatic) Similar to; as an instance of; as a kind of.
   • 1861, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, ch. 19:

     "My dear young friend, rely upon my doing my little all in your absence, by keeping the fact before the mind of Joseph. - Joseph!" said Mr. Pumblechook, in the way of a compassionate adjuration.

   • 1906, O. Henry, "The Gift Of The Magi":

     I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less.

See also

• by way of
• in the way

Translations