a broad highway designed for high-speed traffic
"The driver merged onto the busy freeway to avoid the slow-moving city streets."
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.
"The driver merged onto the busy freeway to avoid the traffic lights on the city streets below."
In plain English: A freeway is a large, high-speed road designed for cars to travel quickly without stopping at traffic lights.
"We drove across the city on the busy freeway to avoid traffic."
Usage: In American English, use "freeway" to refer specifically to a fully controlled-access highway without traffic lights or cross streets. Avoid using it interchangeably with "expressway," which may allow some at-grade intersections depending on regional definitions.
The word freeway is a combination of the words free and way. It originally referred to a road that is free from traffic restrictions or tolls.