railroad

[ reyl-rohd ]

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.

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

/ ˈreɪlˌrəʊd /

noun

1. the usual US word for railway

verb

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

Other Words From

• non·railroad adjective
• pre·railroad adjective
• pro·railroad adjective
• un·railroaded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of railroad¹

1750–60; 1875–85 railroad fordef 9; rail ¹ + road

Example Sentences

But in the centre of Wilmington, outside the railroad station named after Joseph R Biden Jr. it was clear that not everyone agreed.

From BBC

The woman by the railroad track had agreed to go into one of the city’s tiny homes, but then she disappeared, probably moving closer to her roots in Hawthorne, Omura thought.

From Los Angeles Times

A decommissioned railroad car stood gleaming next to the main road.

From Los Angeles Times

“When a railroad crossing is not controlled, what is the speed limit when you are within 100 feet and cannot see for 400 feet in both directions?”

From Los Angeles Times

From 1815 to 1914, London presided over an expanding global system marked by industry, capital exports and colonial conquests, all spurred by the integration of the planet via railroad, steamship, telegraph and ultimately radio.

From Salon

Related Words

• rail line
• railway
• subway