跑道 pǎodào athletic track
athletic track; track; runway (i.e. airstrip)
How to remember 跑道: 跑 run + 道 way = athletic track.
Characters
How it is used
- A running track, and an airport runway - 在跑道上跑步 (zài pǎodào shàng pǎobù) run on the track; 飞机滑上跑道 the plane taxis onto the runway.
- So one word covers the athletics track and the aircraft runway; context disambiguates.
- Figurative 换赛道/换跑道 = switch fields or career paths.