railroad

American  

[reyl-rohd] / ˈreɪlˌroʊd /

noun

1. 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.

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

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.

Example Sentences

Still, it is unclear how organized the underground railroad heading to Mexico truly was, the Associated Press reported in 2020, with archives destroyed in a fire and sites along the path abandoned.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

At the time, however, the frontier – with its rugged cowboys, miners and railroad men – defined American manhood.

From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026

The company will use the funding to conduct a paid pilot with a Class 1 railroad, testing its battery retrofit and dynamic charging system.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

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

This Hampden was a bombed-out expanse of water towers, rusted railroad tracks, sagging warehouses and factories with the doors boarded up and the windows broken out.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Related Words

• rail line
• railway
• subway