turnpike
pronunciation
How to pronounce turnpike in British English:
UK [ˈtɜ:npaɪk]
How to pronounce turnpike in American English:
US [ˈtɜrnpaɪk]
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- Noun:
- (from 16th to 19th centuries) gates set across a road to prevent passage until a toll had been paid
- an expressway on which tolls are collected
Word Origin
- turnpike (n.)
- early 15c., "spiked road barrier used for defense," from turn + pike (n.2) "shaft." Sense transferred to "horizontal cross of timber, turning on a vertical pin" (1540s), which were used to bar horses from foot roads. This led to the sense of "barrier to stop passage until a toll is paid" (1670s). Meaning "road with a toll gate" is from 1748, shortening of turnpike road (1745).
Example
- 1. The surging storm tide tossed railway carriages onto the new jersey turnpike , the state 's main artery .
- 2. At a pennsylvania turnpike rest stop , we tossed a football in the parking lot .
- 3. Meanwhile , private capital markets and the private " turnpike " industry were busy financing thousands of miles of private roads without any governmental assistance .