Turn′pike.
1. A toll-gate across a road. 2. A proprietary road, where toll is collected. The name has come to signify one which is graded and either macadamized or graveled, so as not to be mere mud. The first American turnpike act was in 1796, — the National Road from Baltimore to Illinois. See paving; road. 3. A turnstile (which see). 4. A winding stairs.5. (Fortification.) A beam filled with spikes. A cheval de frise.