Spanish word

autovía

Pronunciation

IPA/autoˈβia/

Meaning

  • feminine nounhighway

Example

¿Vas a tomar la autovía hoy para llegar antes?

Are you going to take the highway today to get there earlier?

Illustration for autovía (highway)

More examples

Había mucho tráfico en la autovía esta mañana.

There was a lot of traffic on the highway this morning.

Core concept

Dual carriageway designed for continuous vehicle travel without level crossings.

Common phrases

  • entrar en la autovía

    enter the highway

  • conducir por la autovía

    drive on the highway

  • tráfico en la autovía

    traffic on the highway

Similar words

autopista: Multi-lane high-speed expressway commonly run as a toll road for long-distance travel.
carretera: General road linking towns and cities, with varied speeds and infrastructure.
vía rápida: Main arterial road built for quick trips, with few signals or intersections.
circunvalación: Road that circles a town or city to route through-traffic around the center.

Definition in Spanish

Vía rápida para vehículos con calzadas separadas y sin cruces a nivel, pensada para trayectos a velocidad sostenida.

Word origin

Coined from auto- ('motor', from automóvil) plus vía ('way'), reflecting a roadway intended for automobile traffic at sustained speeds.

Usage tips

  • Speakers often contrast autovía with autopista; autopista commonly indicates a toll road, so confirming which term locals mean clarifies whether a route involves tolls.

Opposites

  • carretera convencionalconventional roadnoun

Word lists with this word