Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To clear the way / to open the road: The primary meaning refers to the act of removing obstacles, blockages, or obstructions from a path, road, or route to make it passable for traffic or movement.
   • To become passable / to be opened to traffic: Describes the state or result when a previously blocked or closed road, route, or passage is made available for use.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Sau trận lở đá, công nhân mất hai ngày để thông đường. (After the rock slide, workers took two days to clear the road.)
  • Con đường huyết mạch này sẽ được thông đường vào tuần tới. (This vital road will be opened to traffic next week.)
  • Xe cứu hỏa cần được ưu tiên thông đường. (Fire trucks need to be given priority to have the way cleared.)

Advanced Usage

• "thông đường cho": to clear the way for (someone/something), to pave the way for.
  • Cảnh sát thông đường cho đoàn xe đặc biệt. (The police cleared the way for the special motorcade.)
  • Thỏa thuận này thông đường cho các dự án đầu tư mới. (This agreement paves the way for new investment projects.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thông thoáng (adj): spacious, airy, unobstructed (often for spaces, not specifically roads).

  • Căn phòng này rất thông thoáng. (This room is very airy.)

• Khai thông (v): to open up, to clear (a blockage); often used in similar contexts but can be more formal or technical.

  • Kỹ sư đang tìm cách khai thông cống ngầm. (The engineer is finding a way to clear the sewer.)

Synonyms

• Clear the road: to remove obstacles from a roadway.
• Open to traffic: to make a route available for vehicles.
• Unblock: to remove a blockage.

Related Idioms

• Thông đồng bén giọt: This idiom means "to be in cahoots" or "to collude." It is related through the shared root "thông" (meaning "through" or "connected"), but its meaning is distinct from "thông đường."
  • Hai công ty đó bị nghi ngờ thông đồng bén giọt với nhau. (Those two companies are suspected of being in cahoots.)