1. on the way - Adverb
2. on the way - Phrase
on a route to some place
Source: WordNetLife was a funny thing that occurred on the way to the grave. Quentin Crisp
I am more and more convinced that our happiness or our unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those events themselves. Wilhelm von Humboldt
Always be nice to people on the way up because you'll meet the same people on the way down. Wilson Mizner
When the cat hops around, bad weather is on the way. Sicilian Proverb
On the way out, the road is rough; returning, it is smooth. Thai Proverb
Shame comes to no man unless he himself help it on the way. Danish Proverb