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.

---

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

---

verb

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have railroaded
  perfect
• has railroaded
  perfect 3rd person singular
• has been railroading
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are railroading
  progressive
• am railroading
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been railroading
  perfect progressive
• is railroading
  progressive 3rd person singular
• railroading
  participle
• railroads
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had railroaded
  perfect
• was railroading
  progressive singular
• had been railroading
  perfect progressive
• were railroading
  progressive plural
• railroaded
  simple
• railroaded
  participle

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

Railroad companies eventually owned the land alongside their tracks.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

Railroad companies eventually owned the land alongside their tracks, and telecom companies eventually owned the cables.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

Appeared in the May 19, 2026, print edition as 'The Railroad Union’s Blackmail'.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

The Western Railroad of Massachusetts reported that 2,331 individuals owned shares in 1838, and the Pennsylvania topped 2,600, Robert Sobol writes in The Big Board External link: A History of the New York Stock Market.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

William Still, who was familiar with all the station stops on the Underground Railroad, supplied Harriet with money and sent her and her eleven fugitives on to Burlington, New Jersey.

From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry

Related Words

• rail line
• railway
• subway