subway

American  

[suhb-way] / ˈsʌbˌweɪ /

noun

• subways
  plural

1. especially British, tube, underground. an underground electric railroad, usually in a large city.

2. Chiefly British. a short tunnel or underground passageway for pedestrians, automobiles, etc.; underpass.

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verb (used without object)

1. to be transported by a subway.

   We subwayed uptown.

subway British  

/ ˈsʌbˌweɪ /

noun

1. an underground passage or tunnel enabling pedestrians to cross a road, railway, etc

2. an underground passage or tunnel for traffic, electric power supplies, etc

3. an underground railway

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• subways
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of subway

First recorded in 1820–30; sub- + way ¹

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Explanation

An underground transportation system on rails is called a subway. New York City's subway system has more stations than any other subway in the world. In most large cities, the subway is a good way to get where you need to go. Subways have many different local names, from the BART in San Francisco to the Métro in Paris to the U-Bahn in Berlin. Before subway came to mean "underground railway," it meant "underground passage for water pipes." And if you ask where the subway is in London, you'll be directed to an underground walkway, which is what subway means in the U.K.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

subway subways

Those points might represent cities, PCs, subway stations, or organs, while the connections could stand for highways, cables, railway lines, or blood vessels.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

It was walking distance from the subway and had a lovely if nonfunctional fireplace, and when the baby bunnies nested in our herb garden, I thought, Yes.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

The city’s subway trains sometimes halt in tunnels when power goes out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

Raised in Queens, the son of a builder and a dressmaker, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife of 41 years, Katherine, and still takes the subway to watch his beloved Knicks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Annabelle stands there, feet planted on the ground like she’s riding the subway.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

And it’s all being experienced with little to no air conditioning, from schools to subways to hospitals to homes, making daily life a sweltering burden.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Longtime critics of subways used the explosion to stoke community fears that tunneling would lead to exploding homes.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

Philadelphia’s World Cup host organization said Monday that it will offer free public transit to fans who are traveling home from Lincoln Financial Field via the state’s Septa system, which operates buses, subways and trains.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 21, 2026

She thinks the subways are already dangerous and filthy, and worries about the state of them next year when her oldest child needs to take public transit alone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025

Where else does the sidewalk tremble under your feet from the rumble of subways underground, and trucks and city buses up top?

From "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes

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Related Words

• metro
• underground

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