Phrase guide

on the street

prep_phrase · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

prep_phrase

Meaning 1

Without a home; without the means to afford good shelter.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • We haven't been able to pay rent for five months. Next month we'll be on the street.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: homeless, houseless, unhoused, unsheltered

Antonyms: none provided

2

prep_phrase

Meaning 2

In public, including daily life and the crime that sometimes occurs there; especially, in the world of street crime and those whose daily life is immersed in it.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • At that time, a greenback was worth more on the street than it was at the foreign exchange office.
  • Their attitude is that the police commissioner's bluster isn't worth much on the street.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

prep_phrase

Meaning 3

In actual practice, as opposed to in a laboratory, classroom, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • These students are eager to test their knowledge on the street instead of in the exam book.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

prep_phrase

Meaning 4

Working as a sex worker.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • Times got a little desperate and she was on the street for a while.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

prep_phrase

Meaning 5

Publicly known

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • She put it on the street, so now everyone knows.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

prep_phrase

Meaning 6

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see on, the, street.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The pavement markings on the street were confusing to foreigners.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 无家可归 (wú jiā kě guī) — without a home
  • Chinese Mandarin: 在街上游荡 (yóudàng) — without a home
  • Czech: na ulici — without a home
  • Dutch: op straat — without a home
  • Finnish: kadulla — without a home
  • Finnish: pihalla — without a home
  • Finnish: kartanolla — without a home
  • French: à la rue — without a home
  • German: obdachlos — without a home
  • German: auf der Straße — without a home
  • Polish: na ulicy — without a home
  • Portuguese: nas ruas — without a home
  • Russian: на у́лице (na úlice) — without a home
  • Spanish: en la calle — without a home
  • Spanish: sin techo — without a home
  • Spanish: desamparado — without a home
  • Spanish: desalojado — without a home
  • Vietnamese: ngoài đường — without a home