turnpike

[turn-pahyk] /ˈtɜrnˌpaɪk/
noun
1.
a high-speed highway, especially one maintained by tolls.
2.
(formerly) a barrier set across such a highway to stop passage until a toll has been paid; tollgate.
Origin
1375-1425; late Middle English turnepike road barrier (in def. 1, short for turnpike road). See turn, pike2
Examples from the web for turnpike
  • Dotter pulled off the turnpike in the middle of nowhere.
  • Troopers said the car overturned several times and was upside down along the turnpike when it was found.
  • To and from work commuters may be a more reasonable market for fast charge stations than turnpike or shopping center trips.
British Dictionary definitions for turnpike

turnpike

/ˈtɜːnˌpaɪk/
noun
1.
(between the mid-16th and late 19th centuries)
  1. gates or some other barrier set across a road to prevent passage until a toll had been paid
  2. a road on which a turnpike was operated
2.
an obsolete word for turnstile (sense 1)
3.
(US) a motorway for use of which a toll is charged
Word Origin
C15: from turn + pike²
Word Origin and History for turnpike
n.

early 15c., "spiked road barrier used for defense," from turn + pike (n.2) "shaft." Sense transferred to "horizontal cross of timber, turning on a vertical pin" (1540s), which were used to bar horses from foot roads. This led to the sense of "barrier to stop passage until a toll is paid" (1670s). Meaning "road with a toll gate" is from 1748, shortening of turnpike road (1745).