English Online Dictionary. What means railroad? What does railroad mean?
English
Etymology
From rail + road. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “figurative usage?”)
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɹeɪlɹoʊd/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɹeɪlɹəʊd/
- Rhymes: -eɪlɹoʊd, -eɪlɹəʊd
- Hyphenation: rail‧road
Noun
railroad (plural railroads)
- (chiefly US) 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
- (figurative) A procedure conducted in haste without due consideration.
Synonyms
- railway (Britain, Ireland and Commonwealth of Nations)
Derived terms
Descendants
- Jersey Dutch: railroad
Translations
Verb
railroad (third-person singular simple present railroads, present participle railroading, simple past and past participle railroaded)
- (transitive) To transport via railroad.
- (intransitive) To operate a railroad.
- (intransitive) To work for a railroad.
- (intransitive) To travel by railroad.
- (intransitive) To engage in a hobby pertaining to railroads.
- (transitive) To manipulate and hasten a procedure, as of formal approval of a law or resolution.
- (transitive) To convict of a crime by circumventing due process.
- (transitive) To procedurally bully someone into an unfair agreement.
- (role-playing games) To force characters to complete a task before allowing the plot to continue.
- (upholstery) To run fabric horizontally instead of the usual vertically.
Derived terms
- railroader
Translations
Anagrams
- road-rail