thoroughfare

noun

ˈthər-ə-ˌfer How to pronounce thoroughfare (audio)
Definition of thoroughfarenext
as in highway
a passage cleared for public vehicular travel one of the city's main thoroughfares

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of thoroughfare This, Rostov’s main thoroughfare, wasn’t illuminated by the familiar bright glare of its many street lamps, or by light from its windows, now blacked out, but emerged from the darkness all the more gently in a milky cloak of moonlight. — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2026 The massive project funded from 13 federal, state and local agencies, gives a glimpse of what’s to come for Long Beach thoroughfares. — Barbara Kingsley-Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026 Comella paid his fare at Canal Street — the driver would go no farther — and walked south on west Broadway, a thoroughfare of million-dollar lofts, to a point three blocks from the Trade Center. — Peter Wilkinson, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026 Residents, local advocates, and officials have all acknowledged something needs to be done on the major thoroughfare. — Charlotte Observer, 8 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for thoroughfare
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thoroughfare
  1. highway
  2. road
  3. street
  4. freeway
  5. route
  6. boulevard
  7. expressway
  8. roadway
Noun
  • Reducing fuel consumption At highway speeds, trucks experience significant air resistance, also referred to as aerodynamic drag, due to their large, boxy shapes.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Despite this new highway, the Benton that Harrison found was the Benton of most of its existence.
    — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of highway
Noun
  • At the height of the incident, DeKalb fire crews blocked two right lanes of I-85 southbound and the entire access road next to it.
    — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The Wildcats improved to 6-1 with a win at Oklahoma, which marks their third road win in the conference.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of road
Noun
  • Planning Commission member Karen Sherman pointed out the city ordinance prohibits driveways exiting onto collector streets for safety.
    — Annette Beard, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Then, exit the PATCO gates, follow the signs to the street level and head north on South 13th Street toward James Street; then left on Walnut Street, which is where SEPTA's Walnut-Locust Station is located.
    — Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of street
Noun
  • In 1984, the city commissioned 10 artists from Brockman to paint 10 freeway murals for the Summer Olympics.
    — Siran Babayan, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • More important than the figures themselves is the engine’s broad, effortless power delivery, which makes the Carrera T feel eager whether carving through a mountain road or dispatching a stretch of freeway.
    — Bradley Iger, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of freeway
Noun
  • For four years, Western commercial passenger and cargo planes have already had to fly longer routes to avoid Russian airspace.
    — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026
  • For some, fraud was a route to upward mobility; for others, an act of revenge against the privileged.
    — Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of route
Noun
  • Mel’s Drive-In faces demolition For decades, the bold, mid-century building at Lincoln and Olympics boulevards in Santa Monica has been the end of the line — the last address on the 2,400-mile westward journey of Route 66.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The family arrived in style in the royal family’s Rolls-Royce to observe the annual military parade in Madrid from the grandstand on Paseo del Prado boulevard.
    — Erin Wisti, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of boulevard
Noun
  • The center sits near the Dolphin and Palmetto expressways and Interstate 95, adjacent to the Waterford Blue Lagoon Business District.
    — Luisa Yanez, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The crash happened before dawn near the viaduct that carries the expressway (I-90/94) over Division Street.
    — Kris Habermehl, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of expressway
Noun
  • The double-deck roadway connected with the two-level Michigan Avenue Bridge, center left.
    — Robert Loerzel, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Police are investigating how the victim came to be lying in the roadway.
    — John Annese, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of roadway

Browse Nearby Words

thoroughbreds
thoroughfare
thoroughfares
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Thoroughfare.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thoroughfare. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All