railroad

American  

[reyl-rohd] / ˈreɪlˌroʊd /

noun

1. a permanent road laid with rails, rail, commonly in one or more pairs of continuous lines forming a track or tracks, on which locomotives and cars are run for the transportation of passengers, freight, and mail.

2. an entire system of such roads together with its rolling stock, buildings, etc.; the entire railway plant, including fixed and movable property.

3. the company of persons owning or operating such a plant.

4. Bowling. a split.

5. railroads, stocks or bonds of railroad companies.

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verb (used with object)

1. to transport by means of a railroad.

2. to supply with railroads.

3. Informal. to push (a law or bill) hastily through a legislature so that there is not time enough for objections to be considered.

4. Informal. to convict (a person) in a hasty manner by means of false charges or insufficient evidence.

   The prisoner insisted he had been railroaded.

verb (used without object)

1. to work on a railroad.

railroad British  

/ ˈreɪlˌrəʊd /

noun

1. the usual US word for railway

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verb

1. informal (tr) to force (a person) into (an action) with haste or by unfair means

Other Word Forms

• nonrailroad adjective
• prerailroad adjective
• prorailroad adjective
• unrailroaded adjective

Etymology

Origin of railroad

1750–60; 1875–85 railroad for def. 9; rail ¹ + road

Example Sentences

The pilot with the Class 1 railroad, which Langer said she couldn’t name due to a confidentiality agreement, is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, she said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

The investment in Voltify is one of several options Fortescue is exploring as it seeks to wean its own railroad off fossil fuels.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Migration from Jalisco to California and other states dates to the late 1800s with the construction and expansion of the railroad systems in Mexico and the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Investment banking went on to underwrite construction of the railroad, the telephone, and an industrial revolution that turned America into an economic and military superpower.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

Before they could slide Cleopatra’s Needle out of the ship, the workmen laid down metal tracks, sort of like railroad tracks.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman

Related Words

• rail line
• railway
• subway