You've lived on a street, driven down an avenue, merged onto a highway, and survived a freeway, probably all in the same Tuesday depending on where you live in Kentucky.

But do you actually know what those words mean?

Spoiler: they're not random. Somebody made up rules. Here they are.

A Road is the oldest and simplest. It just connects two places. That's it. Literally any two points. The road to Aunt Linda's farm in Harlan County? Classic road energy.

A Street runs through a town or city, usually with buildings on both sides. It goes east-west, technically. If you grew up on a street, congratulations, you grew up somewhere with sidewalks and a stoplight.

An Avenue runs north-south and tends to feel fancier. Tree-lined, wide, trying its best. Think a nicer version of a street that reads a few books a year.

A Boulevard is an avenue that really committed. Wide lanes, a median in the middle, trees everywhere. Lexington's got some. They'd like you to know about them.

A Highway is a major road connecting cities or regions, and it can have traffic lights, intersections, and the occasional tractor. Winchester Road is a highway. So is US-60. You've been on one today.

A Freeway is a highway that removed all the interruptions, no lights, no stop signs, no eye contact. Just ramps, speed, and the quiet understanding that everyone's going somewhere they'd rather already be. I-75 running from southern to northern Kentucky is a freeway. It does not care about you. It just moves.

Freeways and highways get you there fast, streets and avenues are where you arrive, roads are where everything else happens, and boulevards are where cities pretend to be Paris for a minute.

Now you know. Go drive something.