autobahn

noun

au·​to·​bahn ˈȯ-tō-ˌbän  ˈau̇- 

: a German, Swiss, or Austrian expressway

Examples of autobahn in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The story goes that McQueen had been driving his Porsche 911S on the German autobahn, running at around 130 miles an hour, when a 300 SEL 6.3 blew past with ease. —Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024

Big, imperious four-doors that can effortlessly roll along the autobahn at triple-digit speeds in silence and comfort, ones that announce their owner as a person of not just means, but purpose. —Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 8 Oct. 2024

That’s a two-hour commute that makes the 405 from L.A. to San Diego seem like the German autobahn. —Jon Becker, The Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2024

Volkswagen shut down assembly lines churning out its popular Golf hatchbacks and converted the factory, which has its own exit on the autobahn, to make six electric models. —Jack Ewing, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Autobahn, from Auto auto entry 1 + Bahn "path, way, lane," going back to Middle High German ban, bane "cleared path, track," akin to Middle Low German & Middle Dutch bāne in same sense, of uncertain origin

Note: The Germanic etymon represented by Bahn is perhaps akin to Old High German bano "killer, murderer," Old English bana, etc. (see bane entry 1), if both descend from a verb meaning "strike, beat down." See Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Band 1, pp. 460-61.

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above