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
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.
The other spectators watched the show on a dozen screens installed further down the road, all the way to the main thoroughfare blocks away.
From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026
Oil traders and brokers scrambled to assess the extent of the disruption, including whether traffic could still pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital thoroughfare for energy supplies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026
More than any other Southeast Asian nation, the Philippines has openly challenged China’s claims to much of the South China Sea, a strategic thoroughfare for about a third of global maritime trade.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
A giant digital screen onstage features a countdown clock and a loudspeaker along the main thoroughfare also keeps guests appraised of how much time they have the get back to their seats.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2026
Their tent seemed to be pitched right alongside a kind of thoroughfare to the field, and Ministry members kept hurrying up and down it, greeting Mr. Weasley cordially as they passed.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
