(from 16th to 19th centuries) gates set across a road to prevent passage until a toll had been paid
"The weary traveler tried to sneak through the turnpike before dawn, but the heavy wooden gates remained locked until he produced his silver coin."
A frame consisting of two bars crossing each other at right angles and turning on a post or pin, to hinder the passage of animals, but admitting a person to pass between the arms; a turnstile.
"The old gatekeeper refused to let us through until we paid the toll at the turnpike that barred the horses while allowing pedestrians to slip between its crossed bars."
To form (a road, etc.) in the manner of a turnpike road, or into a rounded form, as the path of a road.
"The construction crew spent months turning the old gravel track into a smooth, paved turnpike that curved gently around the hills."
The word comes from Middle English, where it meant a spiked barrier placed across a road to stop travelers until they paid a toll. It is formed by combining the words for "turn" and "pike," which refers to a sharp shaft or spike.