Meanings
plural tollhouses
- A building where a toll is collected on a toll road.
At the tollhouse the road turns inland to Gledsmuir, and he who goes to the Sker Bay must leave it and cross the wild land called the Whinny Knowes, a place rough with bracken and foxes' holes and old stone cairns.
1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna booth at a tollgate where the toll collector collects tolls
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From toll + house. In previous centuries it was common for the toll collector to live in the tollhouse, his housing counting as part of his compensation.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Latin portitōrium
- portitōriuma building where a toll is collected
Polish rogatka
- rogatkaa building where a toll is collected
Cite this entry
tollhouse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tollhouse
“tollhouse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tollhouse. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tollhouse,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tollhouse.
Source: tollhouse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.