Thesaurus results for SWITCHBACKS

switchbacks

noun

plural of switchback

as in roads

a route that has many sharp turns for climbing a steep hill

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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.

Recent Examples of switchbacks Follow the path adjacent to South Foxton Road, then cross the street and ascend a series of switchbacks. — Abigail Bliss, Denver Post, 1 Oct. 2026 The hike up alongside it is a 3-mile round trip with switchbacks and handrails at the steeper spots. — Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026 Near the half-mile point, hikers are met with a handful of switchbacks that guide them up the mountain. — Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026 On uneven terrain, loose scree, muddy switchbacks, and stream crossings, reliable traction can make all the difference. — Gentry Hale, Travel + Leisure, 4 Aug. 2026 Cloud cover limited the helicopter to a lower drop point near 50/50 Flat, above the switchbacks, forcing rescuers to climb on foot to reach the injured woman. — James Ward, USA Today, 2 July 2026 From there, the itinerary continues toward Trollstigen, one of Norway’s most famous mountain roads, known for its steep switchbacks and waterfalls. — Emese MacZko, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026 Waymos are designed to take the fastest route, and eight switchbacks with tourists driving down in awe of San Francisco at 5mph will never be that. — Rakesh Agrawal, PC Magazine, 28 June 2026 Drivers needed a super-thin sole to feel the pedals, a rounded heel to pivot smoothly around sharp European switchbacks, and a tight suede fit. — Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for switchbacks

Noun

Most mountain roads should remain wet, but slick conditions are possible above 9,000 feet, especially after dark.

— Joe Ruch, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Critics also worried that an unplanned surge in housing could strain schools, roads and other infrastructure.

— Jennifer Ludden, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of roads

Noun

The two highways are major entry points to the center of Kansas City and downtown.

— Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2026
For residents like Smith, the idea of transforming space above one of Atlanta's busiest highways offers a glimpse of what downtown could become.

— Jamal Goss, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of highways

Noun

The force, which rose to a peak of about 5,000 troops over the summer, has supported arrest operations, patrolled city streets and neighborhoods, and participated in cleanup efforts.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
Video from the scene obtained by CNN showed ambulances rushing through narrow streets and crowds gathered outside the school building.

— Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of streets

Noun

Low-lying roadways are likely to be flooded, requiring barricades.

— NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 11 Oct. 2026
Less than one percent of Houston’s roadways, for example, fell within the sight pictures of the city’s nearly 4,000 ALPRs in June 2024.

— Rafael A. Mangual, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of roadways

Noun

By the time the coffee shop building was going up at the end of the route in 1959, Fresco said, interstate freeways were already beginning to usurp Route 66’s role and the Santa Monica route of Interstate 10 had been plotted.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Director Christopher Nolan uses the premise to stage spectacular sequences where cars reverse down freeways at high speed, cause and effect goes topsy-turvy, and fights are just, well, weird.

— Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of freeways

Noun

Ohtani didn’t rule anything out in his postgame scrum, several rows deep, in front of his locker after the Dodgers’ 6-4 defeat in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.

— Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
The ICUs were quiet also, because rows of patients slowly dying on ventilators don’t make noise.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of rows

Noun

The resulting long lineups snake out from working gas stations into the main thoroughfares of Moscow and other Russian cities.

— Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Oct. 2026
Rancho Cordova was awarded more than $3 million in grants from a local agency for two road improvement projects on major city thoroughfares.

— Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of thoroughfares

Noun

As transportation networks expanded—first with canals and turnpikes, and later with railroads—rural isolation began to fade.

— Daryl Austin, USA Today, 21 May 2026
Both turnpikes are currently classified as state highways, said Darian Butler, OTA engineering director.

— Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice, 4 Feb. 2026

Definition of turnpikes

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switchback

switchbacks

switchblade

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“Switchbacks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/switchbacks. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of switchbacks

noun

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