interstate
Americanadjective
noun
-
a highway serving two or more states.
-
(sometimes initial capital letter) a highway that is part of the nationwide U.S. Interstate Highway System.
adjective
adverb
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of interstate
Compare meaning
How does interstate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
Vocabulary lists containing interstate
Chapter 11: Growth and Expansion
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Constitution
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Mangione is also charged in federal court with two counts of interstate stalking and risks the same punishment.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
“Don’t try to walk to MetLife stadium!” became a popular post on social media by Americans afraid that Europeans didn’t understand the reality of the U.S. interstate highways.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026
That case, Gorsuch reasoned, was on point here: It foreclosed Flowers’ rule that workers needed to cross state lines or interact with vehicles traveling across borders to engage in interstate commerce.
From Slate • Jun. 3, 2026
Basically these tractors are able to leave the yard, navigate from the yard to the interstate, run the interstate, go to the next facility.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
“It’s why the Bureau is involved. We think this was an interstate crime.”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
