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 of thoroughfare

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

Examples of thoroughfare in a Sentence

one of the city's main thoroughfares

Recent Examples on the Web

Health concerns Vendors serving food and drinks from carts and makeshift restaurants have sprouted along some of the city’s main thoroughfares, raising public health and local business concerns. —Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 31 Jan. 2026

Today, the old highway’s status as a national thoroughfare has been supplanted by the much speedier Interstate 55. —Joe Sills, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026

The committee found the building, which is across from Texas Wesleyan University and along a main thoroughfare on East Rosedale, to be an ideal location, said Barnett, co-chair of the organization’s steering committee. —Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Jan. 2026

Since then, TxDOT has continually sent fleets of trucks to plow main thoroughfares like Central Expressway in Richardson on Monday night and Highway 287 in Decatur earlier in the day. —J.d. Miles, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026

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