turnpike Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (from 16th to 19th centuries) gates set across a road to prevent passage until a toll had been paid
  2. noun an expressway on which tolls are collected
    toll road.

WordNet

Turn"pike` noun
Etymology
Turn + pike.
Definitions
  1. A frame consisting of two bars crossing each other at right angles and turning on a post or pin, to hinder the passage of beasts, but admitting a person to pass between the arms; a turnstile. See Turnstile, 1.
    I move upon my axle like a turnpike. B. Jonson.
  2. A gate or bar set across a road to stop carriages, animals, and sometimes people, till toll is paid for keeping the road in repair; a tollgate.
  3. A turnpike road. De Foe.
  4. A winding stairway. Scot. Sir W. Scott.
  5. (Mil.) A beam filled with spikes to obstruct passage; a cheval-de-frise. R.
Turn"pike` transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Turnpiked ; present participle & verbal noun Turnpiking
Definitions
  1. To form, as a road, in the manner of a turnpike road; into a rounded form, as the path of a road. Knowles.

Webster 1913