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expressway

American  
[ik-spres-wey] / ɪkˈsprɛsˌweɪ /

noun

  1. a highway especially planned for high-speed traffic, usually having few if any intersections, limited points of access or exit, and a divider between lanes for traffic moving in opposite directions.

expressway British  
/ ɪkˈsprɛsˌweɪ /

noun

  1. a motorway

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of expressway

First recorded in 1940–45; express + way 1

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Fire officials requested mandatory evacuations for a large area north of Ramona Expressway and east of Lake Perris on Friday afternoon.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

The Expressway Route 30 service runs between Dublin and Donegal.

From BBC • Nov. 29, 2025

This bold diagonal, cut through the prim Quaker street grid, produced a great many awkwardly shaped blocks, including the pointy trapezoid between the Parkway and the Vine Street Expressway that houses Calder Gardens.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 24, 2025

A classic example was the Van Wyck Expressway, which Moses built in Queens in 1950.

From Slate • Aug. 28, 2024

On Lekki Expressway, the traffic moved swiftly in the waning rain and soon Gabriel was pressing the horn in front of the high black gates of his home.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.