railway

American  

[reyl-wey] / ˈreɪlˌweɪ /

noun

• railways
  plural

1. a rail line with lighter-weight equipment and roadbed than a main-line railroad.

2. a railroad, especially one operating over relatively short distances.

3. Also called trackway.  any line or lines of rails forming a road of flanged-wheel equipment.

4. Chiefly British. railroad.

---

railway British  

/ ˈreɪlˌweɪ /

noun

1. a permanent track composed of a line of parallel metal rails fixed to sleepers, for transport of passengers and goods in trains

2. any track on which the wheels of a vehicle may run

   a cable railway

3. the entire equipment, rolling stock, buildings, property, and system of tracks used in such a transport system

4. the organization responsible for operating a railway network

5. (modifier) of, relating to, or used on a railway or railways

   a railway engine

   a railway strike

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interrailway
  adjective
• prerailway
  adjective
• railwayed
  adjective
• railwayless
  adjective
• unrailwayed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• railways
  plural

Etymology

Origin of railway

First recorded in 1770–80; rail ¹ + way ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

railway railways

The property in Bleasby dates back to the 1840s, when the railway station opened, and would have been home to the station masters who were responsible for opening and closing the station barriers.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Parts of the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, have been hit by major rail disruption after suspected sabotage to the tracks, the country's railway infrastructure operator has said.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

"A virtually continuous campaign of strikes against the railway has begun," Ukrainian Railways boss Oleksandr Pertsovsky told AFP.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

An AFP photographer saw a mass of railway staff working around the train on Saturday morning.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

When I had all the letters, he drew a railway.

From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan

President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of trying to "cripple the economy and destroy people's lives" with intensifying strikes on civilian infrastructure, including the railways.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

The accounting giant says the buildout of artificial intelligence differs from the development of railways and the internet because of its scale and spending growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

The statement added: "The UK's railways remain among the safest in the world, with the number of delays caused by track faults falling by 45% since the late 2000s."

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Many of the biggest Muslim consumer markets are in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia, where China has spent years building ports, railways and commercial ties.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

Somewhere along the railways in the heart of the country, Seabiscuit slipped out of 1938.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Related Words

• line
• rail line
• track