railroad
Americannoun
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a permanent road laid with rails, 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.
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an entire system of such roads together with its rolling stock, buildings, etc.; the entire railway plant, including fixed and movable property.
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the company of persons owning or operating such a plant.
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Bowling. a split.
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railroads, stocks or bonds of railroad companies.
verb (used with object)
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to transport by means of a railroad.
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to supply with railroads.
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Informal. to push (a law or bill) hastily through a legislature so that there is not time enough for objections to be considered.
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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)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has railroadedperfect 3rd person singular
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have railroadedperfect
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have been railroadingperfect progressive
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is railroadingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am railroadingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been railroadingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are railroadingprogressive
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railroadingparticiple
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railroadssingular 3rd person
Past
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had railroadedperfect
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railroadedsimple
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had been railroadingperfect progressive
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were railroadingprogressive plural
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was railroadingprogressive singular
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railroadedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of railroad
1750–60; 1875–85 railroad for def. 9; rail 1 + road
Explanation
The system of tracks that trains run on can be called a railroad. A railroad is made up of the actual tracks, crossings, and stations, as well as the people who keep the trains running and scream, "All aboard!" If you prefer traveling by railroad, you like to ride trains, whether to the next town over or all the way across the country. Many railroad tracks in the US are used for freight trains that deliver goods around the country. When railroad is a verb, it can mean "move by train," but it's more likely to mean "force or coerce someone to do something," like when you railroad your brother into taking out the trash for you.
Vocabulary lists containing railroad
The Industrial Revolution - Introductory
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The Industrial Revolution - Middle School and High School
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History of India - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Oman is marketing its ports in the Gulf of Oman as oil storage and export hubs, and Gulf nations are discussing a railroad project.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
But the FAA expressly excludes from arbitration “contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.”
From Slate • Jun. 3, 2026
Open since 1939, it’s one of the country’s last great train stations and considered to be the largest railroad passenger terminal on the West Coast.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026
The transport sector, which tends to be associated with the non-tech part of the market, given that it includes shares of airlines, railroad operators and trucking companies, is also tangentially benefiting from AI growth.
From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026
“I somehow managed to get myself out through the rear entrance of the railroad tunnel and ran home to my mother as fast as I could,” said Heinz.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
