as in road
a route that has many sharp turns for climbing a steep hill
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Recent Examples of switchback
Turn right on Burr Trail Road, which will take you up steep switchbacks that crest the Waterpocket Fold.
—
Maya Silver, Outside Online, 2 May 2025
The conveyor belt immediately whisked the child behind the wall and down a switchback labyrinth of belts moving bags throughout the terminal.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 31 May 2025
This eight-mile round trip hike starts in a sitka spruce forest on boardwalks before hitting switchbacks down to the beach itself.
—Graham Averill, Outside Online, 29 May 2025
The Raccoon River makes a lazy entrance into Des Moines, completing its journey from northwest Iowa in a series of graceful switchbacks through an urban park, its olive surface shaded by locust trees and towering cottonwoods.
—Dave Hage, Literary Hub, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for switchback
Maya Silver, Outside Online, 2 May 2025
The conveyor belt immediately whisked the child behind the wall and down a switchback labyrinth of belts moving bags throughout the terminal.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 31 May 2025
This eight-mile round trip hike starts in a sitka spruce forest on boardwalks before hitting switchbacks down to the beach itself.
—Graham Averill, Outside Online, 29 May 2025
The Raccoon River makes a lazy entrance into Des Moines, completing its journey from northwest Iowa in a series of graceful switchbacks through an urban park, its olive surface shaded by locust trees and towering cottonwoods.
—Dave Hage, Literary Hub, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for switchback
Recent Examples of Synonyms for switchback
Noun
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As Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 successfully landed its 6-foot-tall lunar lander on the moon’s surface around 2:34 a.m. Sunday morning, cheers erupted at the watch party at Haute Spot in Cedar Park, just down the road from where 50 Firefly operators monitored the landing.—
Karoline Leonard,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
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Several road projects are in progress around the new Department of Veterans Affairs medical center on Brownsboro Road, which is scheduled to open to patients in 2026.—
Leo Bertucci,
The Courier-Journal,
29 July 2025
Noun
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Hill said resort partners and others along the Strip encouraged the pilot and were intrigued about a version of an underground highway stretching to other parts of the city.—
Stuart Dyos,
The Tennessean,
30 July 2025
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According to the outlet, debris from the collision hit a Ford Fusion after the loose parts crossed into the left side of the two-lane highway.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
30 July 2025
Noun
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Flash flooding currents are strong and can sweep drivers off roadways.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
21 July 2025
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Police said Lanahan’s car then re-entered the roadway out of control and struck a 2021 Honda CR-V EX that was traveling eastbound on Route 82 head-on.—
Sean Krofssik,
Hartford Courant,
20 July 2025
Noun
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Tristen Paige Smith, of Cincinnati, was killed in a July 21 shooting on Autumn Drive, a residential street in the city of over 9,000 residents, officials confirmed.—
Quinlan Bentley,
The Enquirer,
26 July 2025
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The Double Log Cabin location was met with concerns from area residents about traffic and safety on surrounding rural and narrow streets such as Gwynn and Smith Roads.—
Andy Humbles,
The Tennessean,
26 July 2025
Noun
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WisDOT's latest study proposes a more traditional intersection to connect with the freeway.—
Tom Daykin,
jsonline.com,
29 July 2025
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The center, just off the 5 freeway on Culver Drive, now has the unique distinction of offering two Japanese grocery stores: Mitsuwa and Tokyo Central.—
Samantha Gowen,
Oc Register,
28 July 2025
Noun
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Two summers ago, when torrential rains pounded Connecticut and caused widespread flooding, water gushed out of the lake beyond the existing dam on its way downstream, the culverts under Route 195 at full capacity, water coming close to flooding the main thoroughfare through campus.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
20 July 2025
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The largest of the lower-level shops (at 5,300 square feet) in the main retail thoroughfare, will offer books, souvenirs, toys, and to-go food and drink.—
Kevin Rozario,
Forbes.com,
19 July 2025
Noun
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Cranbury, New Jersey — Just steps off a busy road, tucked at the end of a gravel driveway within eyeshot of the New Jersey turnpike, a small herd of cows and goats grazes freely in a grassy, open field.—
Meena Duerson,
CNN Money,
24 July 2025
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When did scam turnpike texts in Ohio start? Ohio Turnpike toll payment scam texts started to appear more frequently on cell phones in April 2024.—
Mariyam Muhammad,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Noun
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Homicide data from the Illinois State Police, which patrols the city’s expressways, also is not included here.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
28 July 2025
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Interstate 35 is born & more residents displaced Just a year after the viaduct opened, the City Plan Commission released an engineering report calling for a network of expressways to and through the city center, including a series of new highways cutting through the already struggling West Side.—
Elijah Winkler,
Kansas City Star,
27 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Switchback.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/switchback. Accessed 2 Aug. 2025.
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