autobahn

noun

au·​to·​bahn ˈȯ-tō-ˌbän How to pronounce autobahn (audio) ˈau̇- How to pronounce autobahn (audio)
: a German, Swiss, or Austrian expressway

Examples of autobahn in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
On the autobahn, Sport+ lowers the ride height and takes some camber off the wheels for better straight-line performance. Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 7 Aug. 2025 Beer plays Laura, a piano student at a music academy in Berlin, first seen in the opening shots on an autobahn overpass looking down at a river. David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2025 During my test driving, which comprised about 45 miles, in a variety of modes and at a variety of speeds including close to 100mph on a German autobahn, the car achieved close to 3 miles per kWh. James Morris, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025 The other side: Richmond, Virginia, is a veritable autobahn by comparison, with drivers making the same distance trip in under 10 minutes on average. Shawna Chen, Axios, 8 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for autobahn

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Autobahn, from Auto auto entry 1 + Bahn "path, way, lane," going back to Middle High German ban, bane "cleared path, track," akin to Middle Low German & Middle Dutch bāne in same sense, of uncertain origin

Note: The Germanic etymon represented by Bahn is perhaps akin to Old High German bano "killer, murderer," Old English bana, etc. (see bane entry 1), if both descend from a verb meaning "strike, beat down." See Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Band 1, pp. 460-61.

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of autobahn was in 1934

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Cite this Entry

“Autobahn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autobahn. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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