Meaning & use
multi-lane highway
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A wide road with two or more lanes in each direction, designed for fast traffic between towns or cities.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a multi-lane highway' or 'multi-lane highways'.
Patterns
- a multi-lane highway
- on a multi-lane highway
- build a multi-lane highway
The new multi-lane highway cuts the journey from the coast to the capital by an hour.
Accidents are common on multi-lane highways when drivers change lanes without signaling.
They are widening the old road into a multi-lane highway to handle the summer traffic.
Word forms
| plural | multi-lane highways |
|---|
Common combinations
- busy multi-lane highway
- The busy multi-lane highway was jammed with trucks all morning.
- drive on a multi-lane highway
- New drivers often find it stressful to drive on a multi-lane highway.
- multi-lane highway exit
- Miss the multi-lane highway exit and you'll add twenty minutes to your trip.
- a stretch of multi-lane highway
- A long stretch of multi-lane highway runs through the desert.
Synonyms and how they differ
- freeway
- American; a multi-lane highway with no traffic lights and limited access, often faster and more controlled.
- motorway
- British; the usual word for a fast multi-lane road, especially one connecting major cities.
- expressway
- A multi-lane highway with few stops, common in American and Asian cities.
Word family
Commonly confused: multi-lane highway or highway? multi-lane highway or freeway?
multi-lane highway vs highway
A highway can have just one lane in each direction; a multi-lane highway is specifically wide with several lanes.
multi-lane highway vs freeway
A freeway is always multi-lane, but it also has no tolls and no direct access from side streets, which a multi-lane highway may have.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'multi-lane highway' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A multi-lane highway is a wide, fast road for vehicles, so 'build a multi-lane highway between two places' fits. Walking or parking a bike on one is dangerous and not typical; and it is not a narrow forest path.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “multi-lane highway”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.