1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

turnpike

noun

ˈtərn-ˌpīk How to pronounce turnpike (audio)
Definition of turnpikenext
as in highway
a passage cleared for public vehicular travel the turnpike was jammed with people heading south for the long weekend

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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 turnpike The debris from the light pole then hit a tractor-trailer driving on the turnpike, leading the driver to sustain minor injuries. — Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026 The jet crossed over the turnpike at 19 feet above the ground. — Russell Lewis, NPR, 4 June 2026 Since the early 1960s, her drawings, watercolors, acrylics, and collages have run like scenic byways along the whooshing turnpike of contemporary art. — Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for turnpike
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turnpike
  1. highway
  2. road
  3. freeway
  4. thoroughfare
  5. expressway
  6. street
  7. route
  8. roadway
Noun
  • It’s been used to raise funds for Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, a Minnesota woman caught using a racist slur on camera and to support Canadian truckers who blocked highways in protest of Covid restrictions.
    — David K. Li, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026
  • This section of the two-lane road has been carved directly into the red-quartzite cliffs of the Uncompahgre Gorge, and almost none of it has a shoulder; in some places, the highway is only twenty-three feet wide.
    — Peter Hessler, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of highway
Noun
  • And neither Atlanta Public Schools nor Atlanta fire had answers for why buses and a firetruck were not told the road was blocked.
    — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 27 Sep. 2026
  • And the road toward whatever the final destination is starts now.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of road
Noun
  • Vehicles drive on the 405 freeway (overpass) past a US flag displayed outside of the Marathon Petroleum Corp.
    — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Suburbs stretch their undulating freeways into the grid, sucking out nutrients (and cutting through neighborhoods).
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of freeway
Noun
  • The massive project funded from 13 federal, state and local agencies, gives a glimpse of what’s to come for Long Beach thoroughfares.
    — Barbara Kingsley-Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Comella paid his fare at Canal Street — the driver would go no farther — and walked south on west Broadway, a thoroughfare of million-dollar lofts, to a point three blocks from the Trade Center.
    — Peter Wilkinson, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of thoroughfare
Noun
  • Bikes are not allowed to on freeways or expressways, and cyclists cannot pass through tolls unless the signs nearby dictate otherwise.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The driver is also alleged to have made a U-turn from a through lane after exiting the expressway, according to the affidavit.
    — Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of expressway
Noun
  • Watch Peter Rosenberg criticize Ye’s actions at the street renaming for the rapper’s mother below.
    — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 25 Sep. 2026
  • In Doral, businesses reported a 70% drop in sales due to empty streets because of immigration raids.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of street
Noun
  • The Houthis recently captured the strategic port city of Mokha and several Red Sea islands, extending their reach toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a maritime route through which about 12% of global trade passes.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Mapping And Strengthening Your Handoffs ​Modern AI can capture conversations, identify patterns, organize evidence and route insights directly into the workflows where decisions are made.
    — Stu Sjouwerman, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of route
Noun
  • Parts of the Black Horse Pike are underwater in multiple places, resulting in the closure of the roadway.
    — Kyle Reiman, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The impact caused the Civic to strike construction barriers on the roadway.
    — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of roadway

Browse Nearby Words

turnovers
turnpike
turnpikes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Turnpike.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turnpike. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of slew

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All