interstate

interstate — adjective

1. happening between or connecting different states within a country such as the Un

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

happening between or connecting different states within a country such as the United States — used especially for trade, travel, laws, or communication that crosses state borders.

Example

Walid's trucking company transports goods on interstate routes across five states.

interstate + noun: modifier for trade, travel, transport

New trade agreements encouraged interstate commerce between the two neighboring states.

Common collocations
  • interstate commerce
  • interstate trade
  • interstate travel
  • interstate highway
  • interstate system
  • interstate migration
  • interstate business
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • intrastate

    within a single state rather than between states

Grammar Patterns

interstate + noun

Usage Note

Almost always used before a noun (interstate trade, interstate highway). Common in US legal and business contexts when discussing matters that cross state lines.

Common Mistakes

The United Kingdom has interstate highways.
The United Kingdom has motorways.
interstate is a US-specific term for a multi-state road system; other countries use different names.

interstate — noun

Word family

  • intrastate
    adjectiveC1
  • state
    nounA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe major roads, but interstate is the most specific: it refers to the US federal Interstate Highway System, a numbered network of controlled-access roads that cross state lines. Freeway and expressway are broader — any high-speed divided road with limited access may be called a freeway, even if it only runs within one city. Highway is the most general term, covering any main public road from a two-lane rural route to a multi-lane freeway. Turnpike specifically means a toll road, and some interstates are turnpikes (e.g., parts of I-95 on the East Coast). In casual US speech, drivers might say 'I took the freeway' for any limited-access road, but 'I took the interstate' always implies a federally numbered cross-state route.

highway ↗freeway ↗expresswayturnpike

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • Interstate Highway System

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Formed from the prefix inter- ('between', from Latin inter) and state (from Latin status 'condition, position'), with interstate first appearing in the early 1900s as an adjective meaning 'between states'. The noun sense grew popular after the US Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 created a national system of numbered highways crossing state borders.