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Glite Dictionary
tolbooth

tolbooth

9.9
A small building at a tollgate where people pay to cross a road or bridge
  • noun
  • /ˈtoʊlbuːθ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : peaje
  • If you don't pay the toll at the tolbooth, you will be fined.

Examples

  • She noticed the tolbooth had a long line of cars waiting to pay their tolls.

  • The traveler stopped at the tolbooth to pay the fee for crossing the bridge.

  • And let them hang me in the tolbooth for my trouble?

    Rob Roy (1995)

  • They would have taken me to the tolbooth.

    Rob Roy (1995)

  • Until that is settled, I will have you lodged in the tolbooth.

    Rob Roy (1995)

Synonyms

tollbooth
vstolbooth
11 2.7

A small building where drivers stop to pay to use a road, bridge, or tunnel

focuses on the collector receiving payment rather than drivers stopping
tollhouse
vstolbooth
  • Archaic
1 6.9

A small building near a road or bridge where people pay to pass

is the narrower term for a single booth where a collector receives payments

Surface Forms

tolbooth singular
tolbooths plural

Morphology

tolbooth = toll + booth (transparent) = toll + booth

A direct compound of two common nouns; the meaning 'a booth where tolls are collected' is immediately deducible from the parts.

Etymology

Tolbooth comes from the parts toll 'a fee' and booth 'small building'. So, it was the small building where a person collected money at a road or bridge, and that is why tolbooth means a booth at a tollgate.