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What is the difference between motorway and freeway?

motorway | freeway |

As nouns the difference between motorway and freeway

is that motorway is (british|ireland|new zealand|parts of australia) a broad highway designed for high speed traffic, having restrictions on the vehicle types permitted and merging lanes instead of cross traffic; in parts of the united states and other places called freeway while freeway is (australia|canada|us) a road designed for safe, high-speed operation of motor vehicles through the elimination of at-grade intersections, usually divided and having at least two lanes in each direction; a dual carriageway with no at-grade crossings, a motorway.

motorway

Noun

(en noun)
  • (British, Ireland, New Zealand, parts of Australia) A broad highway designed for high speed traffic, having restrictions on the vehicle types permitted and merging lanes instead of cross traffic; in parts of the United States and other places called freeway.
  • Synonyms

    * freeway * controlled-access highway * others regionally

    Hypernyms

    * highway

    See also

    * freeway * expressway * autoroute English calques

    freeway

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (Australia, Canada, US) A road designed for safe, high-speed operation of motor vehicles through the elimination of at-grade intersections, usually divided and having at least two lanes in each direction; a dual carriageway with no at-grade crossings, a motorway.
  • * 1983 , David Brodsly, L. A. Freeway: An Appreciative Essay , page 1,
  • Contrary to what one might expect of an essay on freeways , this one is neither a diatribe nor a paean.
  • * 2008 , Derek Hayes, Canada: An Illustrated History , page 257,
  • In the late 1950s and 1960s most large cities started planning freeway systems, acknowledging the incredible growth in car ownership.
  • * 2010 , Robert Freestone, Urban Nation: Australia?s Planning Heritage , page 161,
  • The Australian freeway story of the late twentieth century, like many planning stories, can be told as one of high technical expectations dashed by political controversy.
  • A toll-free highway.
  • Usage notes

    In Australian usage, the term freeway is sometimes avoided for toll roads. For high-speed roads where tolls apply, terms such as tollway and motorway may be used.