Thesaurus results for SWITCHBACKS

switchbacks

noun

plural of switchback

as in roads

a route that has many sharp turns for climbing a steep hill

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of switchbacks The hike up alongside it is a 3-mile round trip with switchbacks and handrails at the steeper spots. — Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026 Near the half-mile point, hikers are met with a handful of switchbacks that guide them up the mountain. — Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026 On uneven terrain, loose scree, muddy switchbacks, and stream crossings, reliable traction can make all the difference. — Gentry Hale, Travel + Leisure, 4 Aug. 2026 Cloud cover limited the helicopter to a lower drop point near 50/50 Flat, above the switchbacks, forcing rescuers to climb on foot to reach the injured woman. — James Ward, USA Today, 2 July 2026 From there, the itinerary continues toward Trollstigen, one of Norway’s most famous mountain roads, known for its steep switchbacks and waterfalls. — Emese MacZko, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026 Waymos are designed to take the fastest route, and eight switchbacks with tourists driving down in awe of San Francisco at 5mph will never be that. — Rakesh Agrawal, PC Magazine, 28 June 2026 Drivers needed a super-thin sole to feel the pedals, a rounded heel to pivot smoothly around sharp European switchbacks, and a tight suede fit. — Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026 The climb winds through cedar forest and switchbacks into remote Berber villages where the architecture grows out of the rock and days are timed to the sheep and the seasons. — Ritu Upadhyay, Footwear News, 23 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for switchbacks

Noun

As the hundreds of thousands of people made their way down the narrow roads following the politician, a few rerouted into the industry event, still carrying big flags and with faces lit up with hope.

— Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
The landscape was inspired by the inland town of Ioulida, a hilltop village with cascading residential dwellings and winding paths (no car-worthy roads), and a church perched at the precipice.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of roads

Noun

Parcels of agricultural land surrounded on a certain percentage of their borders by homes, businesses, highways or land zoned for future development can apply for the designation.

— Nico Rivero, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
It’s been used to raise funds for Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, a Minnesota woman caught using a racist slur on camera and to support Canadian truckers who blocked highways in protest of Covid restrictions.

— David K. Li, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of highways

Noun

For years, Calderon as a friendly face in the streets, gas stations and grocery stores of the small Johnson County town.

— Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026
The narrow streets around the sultan’s palace are filled with backpackers, street vendors, tour guides hawking their services, and office workers popping out for a coffee amid the madness.

— Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of streets

Noun

Less than one percent of Houston’s roadways, for example, fell within the sight pictures of the city’s nearly 4,000 ALPRs in June 2024.

— Rafael A. Mangual, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
There may be times of limited visibility, ponding on the roadways and areas of minor flooding.

— Sarah Wroblewski, CBS News, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of roadways

Noun

Opponents argue the proposal weakens environmental protections, stifles community input and could fast-track projects like data centers and freeways.

— Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Suburbs stretch their undulating freeways into the grid, sucking out nutrients (and cutting through neighborhoods).

— Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of freeways

Noun

Whatever its financial troubles — and there are many — Paris retained its ability to assemble stellar front rows and impressive staging this season.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
Nearby, the neat rows of grapevines and fig trees his family had tended for three generations had vanished under piles of rubble.

— Ghada Abdulfattah, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of rows

Noun

The massive project funded from 13 federal, state and local agencies, gives a glimpse of what’s to come for Long Beach thoroughfares.

— Barbara Kingsley-Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Two years later, Wong became one of the key leaders of the city’s Umbrella Movement protests that rallied thousands of predominantly young people to the streets to call for greater democracy by blocking major thoroughfares for 79 straight days.

— Chris Lau, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of thoroughfares

Noun

As transportation networks expanded—first with canals and turnpikes, and later with railroads—rural isolation began to fade.

— Daryl Austin, USA Today, 21 May 2026
Both turnpikes are currently classified as state highways, said Darian Butler, OTA engineering director.

— Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice, 4 Feb. 2026

Definition of turnpikes

Browse Nearby Words

switchback

switchbacks

switchblade

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“Switchbacks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/switchbacks. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of switchbacks

noun

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