Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A superhighway.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun UK, Ireland, New Zealand, parts of Australia A broad highway designed for high speed traffic, having restrictions on the vehicle types permitted and merging lanes instead of cross traffic; in parts of the United States and other places called freeway.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a broad highway designed for high-speed traffic

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

A calque of German Autobahn.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word motorway.

Examples

  • If you do end up hiring a car, staying in motorway hotels is often cheaper than historic (and hysterically expensive) city locations

    Five Ways To Save Money On UK Travel | Lifehacker Australia 2010

  • For my initial research for these improbable adventures, I drove on Saturday afternoon down the old Great North Road that still runs parallel to the A1 (M) from Alconbury to Stilton, where huge tin motorway signs tower over the hedges.

    Old Street No 1 Peter Ashley 2008

  • Heavy traffic on the motorway from the Croatian coast to Zagreb.

    Turkish Press 2008

  • Heavy traffic on the motorway from the Croatian coast to Zagreb.

    Turkish Press 2008

  • MM I get a headache just thinking about that friggin motorway.

    Cheeseburger Gothic » Newly renovated Ladies Lounge. 2010

  • For most of us, joining the motorway is the moment a journey begins.

    Car review: Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG estate Martin Love 2010

  • Sure, a film about not tailgating on the motorway is a worthy thing, but it's a bit rich for the BBC to deny its staff external roles in private organisations on grounds of post-Hutton political impartiality, whilst simulatenously allowing them to be used by the Government to make political infomericals isn't it?

    Archive 2007-07-01 2007

  • Not that it did me much good, as the motorway was the usual slog.

    Ruby Tuesday neil h 2005

  • Finally, the snow in the midlands had cleared enough so that the roads were clear, but the fields to the side of the motorway were a brilliant white under crisp blue skies this morning.

    Snow, sandwiches and songs neil h 2005

  • Finally, the snow in the midlands had cleared enough so that the roads were clear, but the fields to the side of the motorway were a brilliant white under crisp blue skies this morning.

    Archive 2005-11-01 neil h 2005

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.