Learn English – What does “to look down the road” mean

meaning

I wonder about "down".
Here is an example.

He went outside. He looked down the road.

I think that he is not in higher place.
I cannot figure out the meaning.

Best Answer

Beside "to or towards a lower place", down can also mean "in a direction away from you". In your context, given that he was not in a higher place, it means he looked at the road from where he was.

Here is a definition of down for the relevant meanings by Macmillan Dictionary:

down
4. in a direction away from you
    a. moving or looking along a road, track, path etc
        I was walking down the street with a couple of friends.
        James looked back down the drive to see if anyone was following him.

    b. moving or looking along a river in the same direction as the current
        We sailed down the Yellow River towards the open sea.

    c. at a point somewhere on a road, path etc in a direction away from you
        They live somewhere down Park Avenue.
        100 yards/2 miles etc down something:
        The nearest hotel is five or six miles down the main road.

    d. at a point further along a river in the direction of the current
        There's another bridge further down the river.

Related Topic