TURNPIKE

turnpike, toll road

(noun) an expressway on which tolls are collected

turnpike

(noun) (from 16th to 19th centuries) gates set across a road to prevent passage until a toll had been paid

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

turnpike (plural turnpikes)

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; a turnstile.

A gate or bar set across a road to stop carriages, animals, and sometimes people, until a toll is paid,

Synonym: tollgate

(Scotland) A winding stairway.

(military) A beam filled with spikes to obstruct passage; a cheval de frise.

A toll road, especially a toll expressway.

(mathematical economics) A trajectory on a finite time interval that satisfies an optimality criterion which is associated with a cost function.

Verb

turnpike (third-person singular simple present turnpikes, present participle turnpiking, simple past and past participle turnpiked)

To form (a road, etc.) in the manner of a turnpike road; into a rounded form, as the path of a road.

Source: Wiktionary


Turn"pike`, n. Etym: [Turn + pike.]

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 beasts, but admitting a person to pass between the arms; a turnstile. See Turnstile, 1. I move upon my axle like a turnpike. B. Jonson.

2. A gate or bar set across a road to stop carriages, animals, and sometimes people, till toll is paid for keeping the road in repair; a tollgate.

3. A turnpike road. De Foe.

4. A winding stairway. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

5. (Mil.)

Definition: A beam filled with spikes to obstruct passage; a cheval-de- frise. [R.] Turnpike man, a man who collects tolls at a turnpike.

– Turnpike road, a road on which turnpikes, or tollgates, are established by law, in order to collect from the users tolls to defray the cost of building, repairing, etc.

Turn"pike`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Turnpiked; p. pr. & vb. n. Turnpiking.]

Definition: To form, as a road, in the manner of a turnpike road; into a rounded form, as the path of a road. Knowles.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

23 May 2025

THOUGHTFULLY

(adverb) showing consideration and thoughtfulness; “he had thoughtfully brought with him some food to share”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

The world’s most expensive coffee costs more than US$700 per kilogram. Asian palm civet – a cat-like creature in Indonesia, eats fruits, including select coffee cherries. It excretes partially digested seeds that produce a smooth, less acidic brew of coffee called kopi luwak.

coffee icon