: 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
railroaded; railroading; railroads
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
: 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
Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 20 Sep. 2025
Zuckerberg pointed to past bubbles, namely railroads and the dot-com bubble, as key examples of infrastructure buildouts leading to a stock-market collapse.
—Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2025
Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 2025
The gist of the argument is that their legal rights have been railroaded by management and want a court to step in.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for railroad
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The wood was sent down the 54-mile Sanger flume to get to a railroad.
—Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 20 Sep. 2025
Zuckerberg pointed to past bubbles, namely railroads and the dot-com bubble, as key examples of infrastructure buildouts leading to a stock-market collapse.
—Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
Rice was not railroaded by an unfair system but rather is the product of its benefit to those with means to have the ability to fully and adequately defend themselves.
—Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 2025
The gist of the argument is that their legal rights have been railroaded by management and want a court to step in.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for railroad
Cite this Entry
“Railroad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/railroad. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
railroad
1 of 2 noun
rail·road
ˈrā(ə)l-ˌrōd 
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 verb1
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 much evidence or by means of false charges
railroader
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share