underground railroad

American  

noun

1. Also called underground railway.  a railroad running through a continuous tunnel, as under city streets; subway.

2. (often initial capital letters) (before the abolition of slavery) a system for helping African Americans fleeing slavery to escape into Canada or other places of safety.

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underground railroad British  

noun

1. (often capitals) (in the pre-Civil War US) the system established by abolitionists to aid escaping slaves

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Underground Railroad Cultural  

1. A network of houses and other places that abolitionists used to help slaves escape to freedom in the northern states or in Canada before the Civil War. The escaped slaves traveled from one “station” of the railroad to the next under cover of night. Harriet Tubman was the most prominent “conductor” on the Underground Railroad.

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underground railroad Idioms  

1. A secret network for moving and housing fugitives, as in There's definitely an underground railroad helping women escape abusive husbands. This term, dating from the first half of the 1800s, alludes to the network that secretly transported runaway slaves through the northern states to Canada. It was revived more than a century later for similar escape routes.

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Etymology

Origin of underground railroad

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

It was far closer than the Underground Railroad leading to the northern states or Canada.

From Los Angeles Times

Between 3,000 and 5,000 enslaved people escaped from the United States to Mexico before the Mexican-American War, viewing Mexico as a more accessible refuge than the northern Underground Railroad.

From Los Angeles Times

KCK also became a major stop on the underground railroad, escaped slaves gaining freedom the instant they crossed the river into Kansas, an abolitionist state.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Think how you’ll grieve for all you’ll leave behind,” she sings to a herd of otters, koalas, flamingos, giraffes, bunnies and kangaroos fleeing Oz for the safety of the Yellow Brick Underground Railroad.

From Los Angeles Times

Robotaxis are set to become the newest cog in a centuries-old transport machine that includes many services that were groundbreaking in their day, such as the world’s first underground railroad and its first regulated taxi service.

From The Wall Street Journal