thoroughfare
Americannoun
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a road, street, or the like, that leads at each end into another street.
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a major road or highway.
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a passage or way through.
no thoroughfare.
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a strait, river, or the like, affording passage.
noun
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a road from one place to another, esp a main road
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way through or access
no thoroughfare
Etymology
Origin of thoroughfare
First recorded in 1350–1400, thoroughfare is from the Middle English word thurghfare. See thorough, fare
Explanation
A thoroughfare is a public road that can get you from one place to another. When it snows, plows try to remove the snow from the thoroughfares so the school buses can take everyone to school. You’re welcome. This somewhat old-fashioned word has a very common meaning — a public road that goes from point A to point B. The word is made up of thorough, Old English for basically, “through” and fare for “journey.” (Fare also now means a payment, but not in thoroughfare.) If a road is private, like a driveway, it’s not a thoroughfare. This word often appears in the phrase "no thoroughfare," which means there isn't a public route available.
Vocabulary lists containing thoroughfare
Fahrenheit 451
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The Call of the Wild
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And then he retraced his steps across the 150-foot wide thoroughfare that knifes through the heart of the city along what once was the Red Car line of the Pacific Electric Railway.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2026
In December, a stone highway marker honoring Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general, suddenly appeared in Marion Square, planted alongside a major thoroughfare in a hub of picnics, farmers markets and celebrations in Charleston, S.C.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
In an effort to alleviate congestion, taxis and ride-share services are prohibited from picking up passengers along this main thoroughfare.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
Tucked into a residential neighbourhood off of a bustling thoroughfare, the centre is flanked by single-family homes, schools, a park and places of worship.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
When it came and Brother Hinton was taken to Harlem Hospital, we Muslims followed, in loose formations, for about fifteen blocks along Lenox Avenue, probably the busiest thoroughfare in Harlem.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
