noun
highway
HAHY-wehy
noun
1
A main road, especially a large, fast public road built for long-distance travel.
"We took the highway to avoid the city traffic."
2
Any public road open for general travel.
"It is illegal to block the highway with your vehicle."
How to Use Highway
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA big, important road meant for fast, long-distance travel.
UK vs US
In the US, "highway" often refers to a major road including motorways/freeways; in the UK it's a more general legal term for any public road, while "motorway" is used for the big fast ones.
Common pairings
highway patrol
take the highway
highway code
Word Forms
highwayed past tense, highways plural, highways singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “highway”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
We took the _____ to avoid the city traffic.
Etymology
From Old English hēahweġ, literally "high way" — a raised, major road built above the surrounding land, distinguished from smaller local tracks.