feeder road

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A small road that carries traffic onto or off a larger, faster road.

   Grammar: Countable: say 'a feeder road' or 'feeder roads'; it often takes 'to' or 'onto' before the main road.

   Patterns

   • a feeder road to something
   • a feeder road onto something
   • traffic on a feeder road

   Take the feeder road on the right to join the highway.

   The new feeder road has eased congestion at the main junction.

   Accidents often happen where a feeder road meets the freeway.

2. 2nouncountabletechnical

   A minor route that brings people or goods to a bigger transport network or hub.

   Grammar: Countable and often used before another noun: 'a feeder road network', 'a feeder route'.

   Patterns

   • a feeder road for something
   • a feeder road into a city

   These country lanes act as feeder roads for the port.

   The plan links outlying villages to the rail station by feeder roads.

Word forms

Common combinations

a feeder road to the highway

Drivers queued along the feeder road to the highway.

join a feeder road

Join the feeder road and then merge left.

a busy feeder road

The busy feeder road was widened last year.

build a feeder road

The council plans to build a feeder road around the town.

feeder road traffic

Feeder road traffic slows down at rush hour.

Synonyms and how they differ

slip road

British term for the same kind of short road joining a highway; 'feeder road' is more common in American English.

access road

Focuses on giving access to a place or building, while a feeder road mainly moves traffic toward a bigger road.

ramp

Usually a short sloping section of road joining a highway, narrower in meaning than 'feeder road'.

Opposites

Word family

feeder noun

Something that supplies or brings things in, such as a feeder bus or feeder school.

feed verb

To supply something continuously, as one road feeds traffic into another.

Commonly confused: feeder road or feather? feeder road or federal road?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “feeder road”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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