What does thoroughfare mean?
A thoroughfare is a public road, street, or passage through a place, especially one that carries significant through traffic. In its most common sense, the word describes a principal route in a town or city: a busy thoroughfare lined with shops, offices, or other buildings. It can also refer more broadly to any way through a location, including a passage through open country or a route through a building. The word often conveys the idea of movement onward rather than a road that merely provides access to a particular destination. Although more formal than the everyday word “street,” thoroughfare is widely understood in British and American English. It is useful when precision matters, as when distinguishing a major public route from a minor road, private drive, or pedestrian path. The expression can also suggest a crowded or heavily travelled route, but that is a contextual implication rather than a necessary feature of the word.
nounA public road or passage used to travel through a place, especially a principal street carrying through traffic. It may also refer more generally to a route or way through a location.
- A principal public road or street used for through traffic, especially in a town or city.
- A route, passage, or way through a place.
"The old market occupies a prominent thoroughfare that remains busy throughout the day."
"Thousands of commuters pass through the thoroughfare every morning."
"Dense hedges created a narrow thoroughfare through the garden."
The plural is used when referring to multiple roads, streets, or routes, especially different thoroughfares within the same city or town.
"The city's oldest thoroughfares are narrow and crowded."
A thoroughfare is a journey in miniature: it combines “through” and “fare” to describe a way that carries people from one place to another.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of thoroughfare
Thoroughfare was formed in late Middle English from “thorough,” meaning through, and “fare,” a journey or passage, so its early sense was a way or road for passing through. The compound appeared in the early 16th century and was initially associated especially with a principal road through a town. Its element “thorough” continues the Old English word “þurh,” while “fare” is related to Old English “faran,” meaning to go or travel.
How thoroughfare is actually used
The word is formal and slightly literary, but it is also understood in ordinary speech. In its most frequent sense, it refers to a main urban road, while more extended uses can describe any route or passage through a place. Usage is not regionally restricted.