interstate

American  

[in-ter-stayt, in-ter-stayt] / ˌɪn tərˈsteɪt, ˈɪn tərˌsteɪt /

adjective

1. connecting or involving different states.

   interstate commerce.

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noun

• interstates
  plural

1. a highway serving two or more states.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter) a highway that is part of the nationwide U.S. Interstate Highway System.

interstate British  

/ ˈɪntəˌsteɪt /

adjective

1. between or involving two or more of the states of the US, Australia, etc

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adverb

1. to or into another state

verb

1. a motorway crossing between states

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noninterstate
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• interstates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of interstate

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; inter- + state

Compare meaning

How does interstate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• interstate vs. intrastate
• interstate vs. highway

Explanation

If something is interstate, it happens between different U.S. states. For example, you can drive on Interstate 80 from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey. Yep, that's a trip. If you're driving from Rhode Island to Illinois, you can call it interstate travel, or an interstate road trip — you're going from state to state. An interstate highway connects different states together, like I-95, which is an east coast interstate highway that stretches from Maine to Florida. For short, you can call a road like this an interstate. This 20th century word combines inter-, "between," and state.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

interstate interstates

The U.S. passed legislation in the 1950s to substantially fund and expand the interstate highway system, boosting productivity, incomes and trade, including in regions where travel had been difficult.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

“Most of the people that travel the interstate have been in here. I mean, back in the heyday or whatever, we counted—one day, we had 86 people,” he bragged.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

During Sharaa's last visit in January, Putin said "much has been accomplished in terms of restoring our interstate relations", commending Sharaa for his "efforts to restore Syria's territorial integrity".

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

Yaroch hasn’t been charged with stealing the cryptocurrency but with interstate transfer of stolen goods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Tucker had said Miles was awful with cars, and I thanked all that was holy that this hadn’t happened while we were on the interstate.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

It’s a breeze to get around, too, with access to major interstates, airports, passenger rail service, as well as water taxis and a bustling cruise ship boarding seaport.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2025

Yet the town's fortunes dwindled as river ports were replaced by trains and then interstates elsewhere.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2024

Americans had fins on their cars, gas in the tanks, and money in their pockets, and were raring to hit those new interstates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2024

Or consider the fragmentary effects of America’s interstates, which throttle ecosystems and human communities alike.

From Slate ● May 25, 2024

I know I should probably hate that about interstates and yearn for the halcyon days of yore, back when you could be drenched in local color at every turn— but whatever.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green

Related Words

• artery
• avenue
• boulevard
• freeway
• parking lot
• path
• roadway
• street
• superhighway
• thoroughfare
• track
• turnpike