trunk road
- noun
- /trʌŋk roʊd/
- UK
:
carretera principal
- Many cities are connected by trunk roads that facilitate efficient transportation across regions.
Examples
-
The Hebron-to-Jenin trunk road has been a route of great significance and passes through Jerusalem at the point where it intersects another trunk road that leads from the coastal plain to Jordan.
Academic text (1990) -
The Hebron-to-Jenin trunk road has been a route of great significance and passes through Jerusalem at the point where it intersects another trunk road that leads from the coastal plain to Jordan.
Academic text (1990) -
Studies suggest that the disease has spread through two geographic pathways: first, along the main trunk roads that serve as the transport network for this enormous country, and second, along the border regions near Burma, where drug use is widespread.
Academic text (2002) -
My apprehension is that if tinkers habitually camp on the side of the trunk roads where fast traffic normally passes, the danger to their children is appalling.
Academic text (1998) -
Each condominium might have a garage backing onto a widening trunk road that never crosses water, a view of the water uninterrupted by the road network, and direct access to the water: water in front, parking for vehicles in back (Nystuen 1963).
Academic text (1990) -
The new trunk road will significantly reduce travel time for long-distance commuters.
-
Travelers often rely on trunk roads to quickly reach their destinations without detours.
Synonyms
629
1.0
A main road that connects big towns or cities for long trips
35
1.1
A big road that carries most traffic and connects towns
3
4.4
A main road that carries a lot of traffic through a city
1
3.2
A major road that carries a lot of traffic and connects important parts of a city
A main road used by many cars to travel between places
How Important
Surface Forms
Morphology
trunk + road
The headword 'road' clearly signals a type of roadway, but the relevant sense of 'trunk' (meaning 'main' or 'principal') is less common and not given in the word list, so the full meaning depends on knowing that extended sense. Because the compound’s sense is compositionally predictable once that less frequent sense of 'trunk' is known, it is partially but not fully transparent to a typical B1 learner.
Etymology
Trunk road comes from the image of a tree. The trunk is the thick main stem and smaller roads are like branches, so a trunk road means a 'main route' for long journeys.