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expressway

 - 3 dictionary results

ex⋅press⋅way

[ik-spres-wey]
–noun
a highway especially planned for high-speed traffic, usually having few if any intersections, limited points of access or exit, and a divider between lanes for traffic moving in opposite directions.
Compare superhighway.


Origin:
1940–45; express + way
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ex·press·way   (ĭk-sprěs'wā')   
n.  A major divided highway designed for high-speed travel, having few or no intersections. Also called freeway, limited access highway, superhighway, thruway.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

expressway

major arterial divided highway that features two or more traffic lanes in each direction, with opposing traffic separated by a median strip; elimination of grade crossings; controlled entries and exits; and advanced designs eliminating steep grades, sharp curves, and other hazards and inconveniences to driving. Frequently expressways have been constructed over completely new routes, passing near but not through large centres of population, on more or less direct lines between desired termini. Their advantages include high speed, greater safety, comfort and convenience for drivers and passengers, and lower vehicle operating costs. Many of these new express highways, especially in the United States, are toll roads, but that is an incidental, not an essential, feature.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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