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Glite Dictionary
🛣️ A toll road 🚧 A toll barrier
turnpike

turnpike

1 9.8
A gate across a road where people paid a toll to pass
  • noun
  • /ˈtɜrnˌpaɪk/
  • Archaic
translation icon : barrera de peaje
  • In the 18th century, travelers had to stop at a turnpike to pay a toll before continuing their journey.

and went through a Turnpike where the guys with the guards let us in.

Examples

  • The historical records show that a turnpike was placed at the entrance to the town to control access.

  • Turnpikes and stagecoaches were controversial in England.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Check the turnpike, Al. -

    The Scout (1994)

  • and went through a Turnpike where the guys with the guards let us in.

    Anything Goes With James English

  • Marino asked, "You notice the turnpike's less than a mile from here?"

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Though if Tom had wanted one at any time, there was not a man or boy in all the village, and away to the turnpike (toll-man included), but would have blown away for him till he was black in the face.

    Academic text (2010)

  • There were repeated battles with turnpike trusts to keep open ancient rights of way and to remove road chains and bridge tolls until the powers of township boards of highway surveyors were abolished in the Leeds Improvement Act of 1866.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Many cities built turnpikes to generate revenue for road maintenance during the 19th century.

Synonyms

tollgate
vsturnpike
1 5.1

A gate across a road where drivers pay a fee to pass

is a historical barrier used earlier to stop passage until payment
tollbar
vsturnpike
  • UK
8.1

A bar across a road or bridge that lifts after payment

is an older barrier term used in past centuries rather than a movable device

Surface Forms

turnpike singular
turnpikes plural

Morphology

turnpike = turn + pike (semi-transparent) = turn + pike

The historical sense 'gate or barrier' can be inferred from a 'turning spike/pole' construction, though 'pike' is archaic and may be unfamiliar to learners.

Etymology

Turnpike originally meant the gate itself: it was a long pole called pike, a 'spear' or 'long pole', that could be 'turned' to block the road, and guards would collect a toll there.