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Showing results for beltway. Search instead for Melt+Away.
Synonyms

beltway

American  
[belt-wey] / ˈbɛltˌweɪ /

noun

  1. Also called belt highway.  a highway around the perimeter of an urban area.

  2. the Beltway, the Washington, D.C., area within the highway that encircles it.


beltway British  
/ ˈbɛltˌweɪ /

noun

  1. the usual US name for a ring road

  2. (usually with capital)

    1. the people and institutions located in the area bounded by the Washington Beltway, taken to be politically and socially out of touch with the rest of America and much given to political intrigue

    2. ( as modifier )

      Beltway Cassandras

"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 beltway

First recorded in 1950–55; belt + way 1

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.

See Examples For:

Swapping a beltway bon vivant for the so-called Prince of Darkness is, however, a risk.

From BBC Feb. 8, 2025

So now I have to actually tell truckers the height or the clearance of the tunnel and direct them to the other side of the beltway.

From New York Times Apr. 1, 2024

The destruction of the bridge, a part of Baltimore’s Interstate 695 beltway, could seemingly doom Marylanders to hellish gridlock for the foreseeable future.

From Slate Mar. 26, 2024

"American support to Taiwan cannot be limited to the beltway," Hsiao said, referring to the Washington political scene.

From Reuters Nov. 23, 2023

It was to have more than 10,000 magnets arranged in a loop 54 miles around, about the size of the beltway highway that circles Washington, D.C.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

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