thoroughfare

noun

thor·​ough·​fare ˈthər-ə-ˌfer 

ˈthə-rə-

1

: a way or place for passage: such as

a

: a street open at both ends

b

: a main road

2

a

: passage, transit

b

: the conditions necessary for passing through

Synonyms

• highway
• road
• street
• freeway
• route
• boulevard
• expressway
• roadway
• carriageway [British]
• artery
• arterial
• turnpike

Examples of thoroughfare in a Sentence

one of the city's main thoroughfares

Recent Examples on the Web

Macy’s chose China Grove for the facility due to its position in the Southeast near major thoroughfares, enabling faster, more efficient service to millions of customers. —Jennifer Bringle, Sourcing Journal, 20 Oct. 2025

Traffic immediately backed up after the closure as motorists lost the main thoroughfare connecting south Orange County to San Diego County, and Caltrans later opened the freeway in the early afternoon, but with traffic breaks. —City News Service, Oc Register, 19 Oct. 2025

The busy freeway travels directly through the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base for nearly 20 miles, with no other major thoroughfares in the region. —Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 18 Oct. 2025

Helicopters constantly whir overhead and the demonstrations often force traffic to come to a stop or to slow at major thoroughfares. —Natasha Korecki, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for thoroughfare

• aftercare
• anywhere
• billionaire
• chinaware
• debonair
• dinnerware
• disrepair
• doctrinaire
• earthenware
• everywhere
• frigidaire
• kitchenware

Kids Definition

thoroughfare

noun

thor·​ough·​fare ˈthər-ə-ˌfa(ə)r 

ˈthə-rə-,

-ˌfe(ə)r

1

: a street or road open at both ends

2

: a main road