Interstate Meaning
/ˈɪntɚˌsteɪt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf, or relating to two or more states.
advCrossing states (usually provincial state, but also e.g. multinational sense).
Sentence Examples
The other day I ran out of gas in the middle of a busy Interstate.
I took interstate 58.
Plans were being made for the construction of a new interstate highway system.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The truck driver traveled on the ____ highway that connected three different states without any stops.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new ____ commerce laws aim to regulate trade between neighboring regions more effectively.
Word Origin & History
From inter- + state, originally as an adjective only; the noun is by (ellipsis) from interstate highway. The noun also serves adjectivally as a (noun adjunct) in such collocations as interstate construction and interstate rest stops.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The difference between intrastate and interstate prison transfers, Justice Blackmun said, "is a matter of degree, not of kind," while confinement in a mental hospital is qualitatively different than an ordinary prison sentence."
— 1983 April 27, “STATES CAN TRANSFER PRISONERS TO OTHER STATES, COURT HOLDS”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Sep 2022:
"Jordan Gee, 37, of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, was charged with three felony counts of threats against the president and one count of interstate threats, according to the Justice Department."
— 2024 May 16, Casey Gannon, “Pennsylvania man charged with threatening Biden in online video”, in CNN, archived from the original on 23 May 2025:
"The speed-limit increase would not apply to Delaware, where the interstates are all near populated areas."
— 1987 March 19, Bernard Weinraub, “HOUSE BACKS A SPEED LIMIT OF 65 FOR RURAL INTERSTATES”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 19 Dec 2024:
"There was no reason to pull off the interstate and drive twenty miles down a bumpy local road, just to stay in a dilapidated no-tell motel."
— 2013, Robin Wasserman, Seven Deadly Sins, volume 1: Lust; Envy, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 120:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The truck driver traveled on the ____ highway that connected three different states without any stops.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new ____ commerce laws aim to regulate trade between neighboring regions more effectively.