pathway vs shortcut

pathway

noun
  • A footpath or other path or track. 

  • A sequence of biochemical compounds, and the reactions linking them, that describe a process in metabolism or catabolism. 

  • A course of action. 

shortcut

noun
  • A path between two points that is faster than the commonly used paths. 

  • A keyboard shortcut: a combination of keystrokes that provides easier access to a command or operation. 

  • A method to accomplish something that omits one or more steps. 

  • A file that points to the location of another file and serves as a quick way to access it. 

verb
  • To take or use a shortcut 

How often have the words pathway and shortcut occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )