freeway
Americannoun
-
an express highway with no intersections, usually having traffic routed on and off by means of a cloverleaf.
-
a toll-free highway.
noun
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another name for expressway
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a major road that can be used without paying a toll
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of freeway
Compare meaning
How does freeway compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A freeway is a busy, divided road with several lanes heading in both directions. The freeway is often to quickest way to get where you're going, unless there's a traffic jam or an accident slowing things down. People often use the terms freeway and highway interchangeably, and there's also parkway and expressway — or motorway, if you're in the UK. Traffic moves fast on the freeway, and its access is limited to exits that lead to and from smaller local roads and streets. There are no traffic signals on the freeway, but a crash or road work can sometimes bring traffic to a complete stop.
Vocabulary lists containing freeway
The Distance Between Us
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Land of the Cranes
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We Were Here
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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.
The self-driving car company, is recalling certain fifth-generation automated driving systems after a number of events in which its cars didn’t recognize and drove past ramp-closure signs into pre-planned freeway construction zones.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026
Waymo is recalling 3,871 robo-taxis to correct software that could allow entry into freeway construction zones.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
At the beginning of 2025, he posted a meme showing Barack Obama behind the wheel of Simpson’s Bronco, speeding away from cop cars on the freeway.
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026
While in office, Raman has voted dozens of times against establishing new no-camping zones near homeless shelters, senior centers, freeway overpasses and other locations.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
On January 2, 2015, Richard left Alameda County Juvenile Hall in the back of a Crown Vic cage car and traveled an hour and twenty minutes by freeway to Stockton, California.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
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.
