railroad

1 of 2

noun

rail·​road ˈrāl-ˌrōd How to pronounce railroad (audio)
ˈrel-;
ˈre-ˌrōd How to pronounce railroad (audio)
: a permanent road having a line of rails fixed to ties and laid on a roadbed and providing a track for cars or equipment drawn by locomotives or propelled by self-contained motors
also : such a road and its assets constituting a single property

railroad

2 of 2

verb

railroaded; railroading; railroads

transitive verb

1
a
: to convict with undue haste and by means of false charges or insufficient evidence
b
: to push through hastily or without due consideration
2
: to transport by railroad

intransitive verb

: to work for a railroad company
railroader noun

Examples of railroad in a Sentence

Noun that railroad hasn't been used for passenger trains for decades Verb a controversial law that is being railroaded through Congress a bill that was railroaded into law They claim she was railroaded.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Cooper’s body was interred at St. Thomas Cemetery in Ann Arbor, at the crest of a hill overlooking his beloved University of Michigan, near the railroad tracks. Michael Jackman, Detroit Free Press, 9 Mar. 2024 It was invented by Brady Vincent, a former railroad cook who opened a barbecue restaurant called Brady and Lil's. Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 8 Mar. 2024 Lax regulation and the thirst for outsized profits led to a railroad boom in the 1840s in the U.K. that saw some towns connected by multiple private lines which competed for customers. Will Daniel, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2024 Until recently, the wide swath of sand protected the railroad for more than a century. Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Mar. 2024 Both sides of her family, for three generations, worked at the nearby railroad hub, which is now destroyed. Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Mar. 2024 Residents themselves described the frustrations of being penned in on two sides by railroad tracks, a factor simultaneously driving neighborhood desire for more commerce and potentially limiting its spread. Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Mar. 2024 But the industry has acknowledged that service suffered particularly in 2022 after the railroads cut too deep during the pandemic. Josh Funk, Quartz, 1 Mar. 2024 Trains roll into the facilities, where they are disassembled, reconditioned to near-factory specifications, and then sent back out into a railroad that functions as New York’s vascular system, pumping more than a billion riders across 345 million miles each year, 24 hours a day, every day. David Waldstein, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024
Verb
The point Sandoval appears to be trying to make is that he has been unfairly railroaded by the court of public opinion. Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 21 Feb. 2024 During the course of the trial, Trump repeatedly claimed, inside and outside of the courtroom, that he was being railroaded for political reasons. John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024 This is how the members of the Central Park Five were railroaded into long prison sentences. Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 Feb. 2024 Characters include Anna, the only female player; Frank, the unwelcome creep; and Jim, the game master who railroads the game’s story. Canwen Xu, Kansas City Star, 30 Jan. 2024 Several owners felt railroaded by an aggressive legal process that typically wrapped up in a few months. Ben Wieder, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2024 Soon, the media joined the chorus of disapproval, saying that such an act was not just offensive but downright racist, and these performers deserved to be railroaded off the stage in perpetuity. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 19 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'railroad.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1757, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1829, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of railroad was in 1757

Dictionary Entries Near railroad

Cite this Entry

“Railroad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/railroad. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

railroad

1 of 2 noun
rail·​road ˈrā(ə)l-ˌrōd How to pronounce railroad (audio)
1
: a permanent road that has parallel steel rails which make a track for cars
2
: a railroad together with the lands, buildings, locomotives, cars, and other equipment that belong to it

railroad

2 of 2 verb
1
a
: to send by railroad
b
: to work on a railroad
2
a
: to push (as a bill) through a legislature in a rush
b
: to convict and send to prison without very much evidence or by means of false charges
railroader noun

More from Merriam-Webster on railroad

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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