beltway

[ belt-wey ]

noun

1. Also called belt highway. a highway around the perimeter of an urban area.
2. the Beltway, the Washington, D.C., area within the highway that encircles it.

beltway

/ ˈbɛltˌweɪ /

noun

1. the usual US name for a ring road
2. usually with capital
   1. the people and institutions located in the area bounded by the Washington Beltway, taken to be politically and socially out of touch with the rest of America and much given to political intrigue
   2. ( as modifier )

      Beltway Cassandras

Word History and Origins

Origin of beltway¹

First recorded in 1950–55; belt + way ¹

Example Sentences

Youngkin during an appearance with John Fredericks on “Outside the Beltway with John Fredericks” earlier this year did not specifically say whether parents should report teachers who are teaching about LGBTQ issues.

From Washington Blade

Some odd localized trees down around Van Dorn and beltway in VA.

From Washington Post

The Washington Post reported Youngkin on Monday during an interview with John Fredericks on “Outside the Beltway with John Fredericks” referenced a tip line that parents can use to report the teaching of “divisive” subjects.

From Washington Blade

Virginia begins last piece of Beltway toll lanes expansion, reaching the American Legion BridgeConstruction has continued while the dispute moves through arbitration, Transurban said.

From Washington Post

Maryland’s tolling authority has lowered the proposed minimum toll rate for express lanes planned on part of the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270 to 17 cents per mile — a 3-cent drop — to match the lowest rate on the nearby Intercounty Connector.

From Washington Post

At its worst, The Stranger merely recycles the biases, conventional wisdom, and cynical bitterness of inside-the-beltway habitués.

From The Daily Beast

It was just something they knew they had to say for a while to sound responsible in Beltway land.

From The Daily Beast

After all, Beltway elites—and many voters—are under the impression that the Republican Party is still nostalgic for the Cold War.

From The Daily Beast

Then presidential politicking transformed the Benghazi tragedy into an inside-the-Beltway circus.

From The Daily Beast

But travel outside the Beltway, and the conversation about impeachment is far from abstract.

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

• artery
• highway
• interstate
• road
• superhighway
• thoroughfare