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 Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of railroad¹

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

Example Sentences

The railroad operator on Thursday posted a profit of $694 million, or 37 cents a share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with $894 million, or 46 cents a share, a year earlier.

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Investors are also concerned about what railroad mergers could mean for the company’s intermodal business.

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Scott Guthrie: It’s just as profound as going back to the Industrial Revolution, when you suddenly had railroads, communications, and a variety of technologies that allowed businesses to reach beyond their local market.

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Scranton was a pivotal player in America’s Industrial Revolution, with its steel furnaces producing rails for the railroads.

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What’s Next: Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said on a podcast that the AI buildout is similar to the railroad and the internet because it will provide critical infrastructure to the economy.

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Related Words

• rail line www.thesaurus.com
• railway 
• subway