🌍 American vs British · vocabulary

highway vs motorway

A major road for fast, long-distance travel.

American
highway

“Traffic on the highway was backed up for miles.”

British
motorway

“Traffic on the motorway was backed up for miles.”

Good to know

Americans use "highway" (or "freeway"/"interstate") for major roads, while Britons reserve "motorway" for the highest-grade routes. "Highway" exists in British English mainly as a legal or formal term (as in "Highway Code"), not in everyday speech.

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