expressway
C2Pronunciation
UK
- /ɛksprˈɛsweɪ/
US
- /ɪksˈprɛsˌweɪ/
Description
- fast main road
- limited-access highway
- divided road for quick travel
Imagine needing to cross a city or travel between towns without stopping at every local street. That's where an expressway helps. It is a wide main road built for faster travel, usually with separate lanes going in each direction and fewer direct entrances than ordinary roads. In many places, cars enter and leave by ramps, so traffic can keep moving. Some expressways are fully controlled like freeways, while others may still have a few junctions. If you want to avoid slower city traffic, taking an expressway is often the easier, faster choice.
An expressway is a major road built to move traffic quickly and smoothly. It is usually wider than ordinary roads, often divided into separate directions, and designed with fewer stops, crossings, and direct property entrances. The main idea is speed and flow: instead of turning onto it from every corner, drivers usually join and leave at planned points such as ramps or large junctions.
People often use the word for roads that let you bypass slower local traffic in and around cities, but it can also describe longer routes between places. In everyday speech, "expressway," "freeway," and similar words are sometimes used in overlapping ways, especially in American English. Still, the exact meaning can change by region. In some places, an expressway is fully controlled, with access only at interchanges. In others, it may still include a small number of crossings or traffic lights, even though it is built for faster travel than a normal highway.
You will hear the word in traffic reports, travel directions, and news about road construction: a crash on the expressway, a new expressway around the city, or advice to take the expressway to save time. The word points not just to a road, but to a kind of route made for steady, efficient movement.
So, when you picture a broad road that helps drivers get across busy areas with fewer interruptions, you are probably thinking of an expressway.
Examples
- 1
Airport travel
We took the expressway to the airport and got there before rush hour.
- 2
Traffic delay
Traffic on the expressway was backed up for miles after the accident.
- 3
Directions
Once you come off the expressway, the hotel is only five minutes away.
Forms and spellings
2 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- expresswaynoun
Forms
- expresswayspluralnoun