What does "turnpike" mean?
A frame consisting of two bars crossing each other at right angles and turning on a post or pin, to hinder the passage of animals, but admitting a person to pass between the arms.
Turnpike
/ˈtɜː(ɹ)npaɪk/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A frame consisting of two bars crossing each other at right angles and turning on a post or pin, to hinder the passage of animals, but admitting a person to pass between the arms.
- Grammar: turnpike is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: toll road, alley, alleyway, archway.
- Useful contrasts: freeway, open passage, open road.
- Usage evidence: At what time exactly did you enter the turnpike?
How to use "turnpike"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "turnpike" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "turnpike" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "turnpike" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "turnpike" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "turnpike" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "toll road" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "turnpike", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A frame consisting of two bars crossing each other at right angles and turning on a post or pin, to hinder the passage of animals, but admitting a person to pass between the arms.
"1626, Ben Jonson, The Staple of News, Act III, Scene 1, Yale Studies in English Vol. 28, New York: Henry Holt, 1905, p. 58, I moue vpon my axell, like a turne-pike, / Fit my face to the parties, and become / Straight one of them."
- 2 an expressway on which tolls are collected wordnet
- 3 A gate or bar set across a road to stop carriages, animals, and sometimes people, until a toll is paid.
"1722, Daniel Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year, London: E. Nutt et al., pp. 9-10, […] it was rumour’d that an order of the Government was to be issued out, to place Turn-pikes and Barriers on the Road, to prevent Peoples travelling;"
- 4 (from 16th to 19th centuries) gates set across a road to prevent passage until a toll had been paid wordnet
- 5 A winding stairway. Scotland
"Ramsay stabbed Ruthven accordingly and James lending his assistance they thrust the wounded man down the turnpike by which Ramsay had ascended Voices and steps were now heard advancing upwards and Ramsay knowing the accents called out to sir Thomas Erskine to come up the turnpike stair even to the head Sir Thomas Erskine was accompanied by sir Hugh Harris the king's physician a lame man and unfit for fighting Near the bottom of the turnpike sir Thomas Erskine in his ascent met Ruthven bleeding in the face and neck and called out Fie strike I this is the traitor l on which Alexander Ruthven was run through the body having only breath remaining to say Alas I had no blame of it"
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A beam filled with spikes to obstruct passage; a cheval de frise.
- 7 A toll road, especially a toll expressway. US
"Eleven Pair of Mills ſtand within Four Miles of the Place, which bring a great Trade to it: But the Road is by this means ſo continually torn, that it is one of the worſt Turnpikes about London."
- 8 A trajectory on a finite time interval that satisfies an optimality criterion which is associated with a cost function.
"In the monograph we discuss a number of results concerning turnpike properties in the calculus of variations and optimal control which were obtained by the author in the last ten years."
Verb
- 1 To form (a road, etc.) in the manner of a turnpike road, or into a rounded form, as the path of a road.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"At what time exactly did you enter the turnpike?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "turnpike"?
Common synonyms include: toll road, alley, alleyway, archway, arterial, arterial highway.
How do you use "turnpike" in a sentence?
At what time exactly did you enter the turnpike?
How do you pronounce "turnpike"?
Pronounced /ˈtɜː(ɹ)npaɪk/.
Etymology
From Middle English turnpyke (“spiked barrier across a road”), originally used to block access to such a road until a toll was paid. Equivalent to modern turn + pike (“shaft”).