railroad
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A permanent track made up of fixed metal rails to drive trains or similar motorized vehicles on.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
raylrohdSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹeɪlɹoʊd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
chiefly usphilippines
A permanent track consisting of fixed metal rails to drive trains or similar motorized vehicles on.
chiefly us
The transportation system comprising such tracks and vehicles fitted to travel on the rails, usually with several vehicles connected together in a train.
chiefly us
A single, privately or publicly owned property comprising one or more such tracks and usually associated assets
figuratively
A procedure conducted in haste without due consideration.
verb
intransitive
To engage in a hobby pertaining to railroads.
transitive
To convict of a crime by circumventing due process.
transitive
To procedurally bully someone into an unfair agreement.
Transport by railroad
Supply with railroad lines
intransitive
To operate a railroad.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A permanent track consisting of fixed metal rails to drive trains or similar motorized vehicles on.
Used this way, railroad is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use railroad
- “He walked along the railroad track.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The operator of a railway locomotive.
An apartment whose rooms are all in a line with doors between them.
Line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight.
An employee of a railroad.
A short stretch of railroad track used to store rolling stock or enable trains on the same line to pass.
Terminal where trains load or unload passengers or goods.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: permanent track consisting of fixed metal rails to drive trains
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.