motorway
(UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Queensland, New South Wales) A highway with grade-separated crossings (rather than level crossings) and designed (and only permitted) for high-speed motor-traffic (in Europe
Seen in the wild
North Strathfield: BREAKDOWN Car. Roads affected: M4 Motorway Tunnel. Affected directions: Westbound
Moorebank: CRASH Truck, Car. Roads affected: M5 Motorway at Heathcote Road off-ramp. Affected directions: Eastbound
👇 Latest from Somerset Three lanes of the southbound motorway have been shut causing delays. #somerset
and he wanted a new road bridge on the Forth and a motorway between every major Scottish City - and the Greens went into coalition with them!
Yep Rina, filling up before I get on the tunnel, I would never stay in motorway park. I am using Search4Sites, Park4night & Robbie Roams France books to help with overnight stays & journey itinerary! I am staying at c…
Definitions
(UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Queensland, New South Wales) A highway with grade-separated crossings (rather than level crossings) and designed (and only permitted) for high-speed motor-traffic (in Europe motor vehicles with a higher speed limit than 40 km/h) running in two directions on one separate carriageway each.
“and he wanted a new road bridge on the Forth and a motorway between every major Scottish City - and the Greens went into coalition with them!”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Yep Rina, filling up before I get on the tunnel, I would never stay in motorway park. I am using Search4Sites, Park4night & Robbie Roams France books to help with overnight stays & journey itinerary! I am staying at campsite for few nights just until I sort myself out!”
— Bluesky· May 2026“If boot space is your top priority, our guide to family cars with big boots in the UK is also worth a look. We stripped the fluff out and kept the useful detail in the full piece. #FamilyCars https://motoringmojo.com/best-family-cars-for-motorway-driving-uk/”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Great, Jen 👍 Please fill the tank up again, just in case, and please never spend the night in a motorway car park. 🙏🙏 Do you have the ‘Park4Night’ or ‘CamperContact’ app? I always use them to find good places to stay overnight if I need to. Have fun, enjoy 🤗”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Can there be a more incompetent agency than #NationalHighways? How can you leave a major motorway like the M5 closed for over 14 hours and counting to deal with a single lorry incident? Over six hours so far stuck on a 5 mile stretch of road because of their uselessness.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
(chiefly, U.S.) A racetrack venue designated especially for the sport of auto racing.
Work of constructing the Texas Motorway, a stone highway which when completed will extend from Fort Worth to Del Rio, Tex., a distance of 500 miles, has been commenced and a section between 18 and 20 miles long running out from Glenrose,…
“North Strathfield: BREAKDOWN Car. Roads affected: M4 Motorway Tunnel. Affected directions: Westbound”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Moorebank: CRASH Truck, Car. Roads affected: M5 Motorway at Heathcote Road off-ramp. Affected directions: Eastbound”
— Bluesky· May 2026“👇 Latest from Somerset Three lanes of the southbound motorway have been shut causing delays. #somerset”
— Bluesky· May 2026“A6 closed following serious road accident near Strassen https://www.europesays.com/lu/6338/ A 59-year-old Belgian man has died in an accident on the A6 motorway in Luxembourg on Tuesday morning,…”
— Bluesky· May 2026“In fairness to EVs (yes, I am a convert) who stops at a motorway service to just refuel without going for a piss, having a sneaky burger/sandwich and a bit of an argument with the kids about not buying sweets for half an hour anyway.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang
UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
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Semantically related
- freeway81%
(US, Parts of, _, Canada, _, and, _, Australia) A highway with grade-separated crossings (rather than level crossings) and designed (and only permitted) for high-speed motor-traffic running in two directions on one separate carriageway each.
- expressway78%
(UK, New Zealand) A road built for high speed traffic, but not up to motorway standards or designated a motorway.
- expressway71%
(US, regional) A divided highway, especially one whose intersections and direct access to adjacent properties have been eliminated.
- dual carriageway67%
(UK, Philippines) A road in which the two directions of traffic are separated by a central barrier or strip of land, known as a central reservation or median.