Dictionary

interstate en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪntɚˌsteɪt/ (General-American)
• [ˈɪɾ̃ɚˌsteɪ̯t] (General-American)
• /ˈɪnɚˌsteɪt/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio
• (US) audio

Etymology

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.

Meanings

1. (Australia, US, not-comparable) Of, or relating to two or more states.
   • interstate reciprocity
   • interstate commerce
   • 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 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:

Forms

Coordinates

national · state · countrywide · interprovincial · intraprovincial · international · suprastate · federal · supranational · intrastate · nationwide · federated

Deriveds

interstate compact

interstate en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪntɚˌsteɪt/ (General-American)
• [ˈɪɾ̃ɚˌsteɪ̯t] (General-American)
• /ˈɪnɚˌsteɪt/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio
• (US) audio

Etymology

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.

Meanings

1. (Australia, US, not-comparable) Crossing states (usually provincial state, but also e.g. multinational sense).
   • The truck driver drove interstate to unload.

Forms

Relateds

pan-Indian · trans-Siberian · Pan-American

Translations (18)

ru межгосударственный (of, or relating to two or more states) · bg междуща́тски (of, or relating to two or more states) · fr interétatique (of, or relating to two or more states) · et riikidevaheline (of, or relating to two or more states) · kk штатаралық (of, or relating to two or more states) · ka შტატთაშორისი (of, or relating to two or more states) · mk меѓудр́жавен (of, or relating to two or more states) · pl międzystanowy (of, or relating to two or more states) · hu államközi (of, or relating to two or more states) · es interestatal (of, or relating to two or more states) · lv starpvalstu (of, or relating to two or more states) · cmn 州際的 /州际的 (of, or relating to two or more states) · bn আন্তঃরাজ্যিক (of, or relating to two or more states) · pt interestadual (of, or relating to two or more states) · ru межшта́тный (of, or relating to two or more states) · ru междушта́тный (of, or relating to two or more states) · de zwischenstaatlich (of, or relating to two or more states) · eo interŝtata (of, or relating to two or more states)

interstate en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪntɚˌsteɪt/ (General-American)
• [ˈɪɾ̃ɚˌsteɪ̯t] (General-American)
• /ˈɪnɚˌsteɪt/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio
• (US) audio

Etymology

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.

Meanings

1. (US) A freeway that is part of the Interstate Highway System.
   • 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:
   • On March 11, 2021, Deputy Andrew Hall with the Danville Police Department responded to an overpass where Wilson was reportedly throwing rocks onto the interstate, according to a Law Enforcement Involved Fatal Incident report released Friday. 2022 October 30, Alaa Elassar, Rebekah Riess, Joe Sutton, “Former California police officer involved in the fatal shooting of Tyrell Wilson won’t be charged”, in CNN, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2022:
   • 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:

Forms

Deriveds

interstater

Translations (10)

de Autobahn (U.S. freeway) · pt interestadual (U.S. freeway) · fr inter-états (U.S. freeway) · mk а́втопат (U.S. freeway) · ru автомагистра́ль (U.S. freeway) · pl autostrada międzystanowa (U.S. freeway) · zh 州际公路 (U.S. freeway) · es interestatal (U.S. freeway) · ru автостра́да (U.S. freeway) · mk автостра́да (U.S. freeway)

wikipedia: Interstate 90 · wikipedia: Greater Cleveland · wikipedia: Interstate 271