railroad

American  

[reyl-rohd] / ˈreɪlˌroʊd /

noun

railroads plural

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)

railroads, present (3rd person singular) railroaded, past participle, past railroading present participle

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)

railroads, present (3rd person singular) railroaded, past participle, past railroading present participle

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• railroads
  plural

Participles

• railroading
  present
• railroaded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• railroad
  simple
• railroads
  simple
• have railroaded
  perfect
• has railroaded
  perfect
• am railroading
  progressive
• are railroading
  progressive
• is railroading
  progressive
• have been railroading
  perfect progressive
• has been railroading
  perfect progressive

Past

• railroaded
  simple
• had railroaded
  perfect
• was railroading
  progressive
• were railroading
  progressive
• had been railroading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will railroad
  simple
• will have railroaded
  perfect
• will be railroading
  progressive
• will have been railroading
  perfect progressive

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

More than a decade ago, a shareholder in the railroad operator CSX brought a case to recover short-swing profits earned by hedge-fund manager Chris Hohn’s TCI Fund Management and 3G Capital Partners.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026

Imagine if one company could become the railroad, electric utility and cloud-computing provider of the emerging space economy.

From Science Daily • Jun. 19, 2026

That level of spending towers over the inflation-adjusted outlays for the U.S. railroad expansion of the 1850s, as well as the decadeslong construction of America’s interstate highway system initiated a century later.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

The railroad craze of the 19th century expanded investing for the first time to include mom and pop.

From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026

The car rattles as we pass over the railroad tracks, letting me know we’re in my neighborhood now.

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

Related Words

• rail line
• railway
• subway