Underground Railroad

noun

variants or less commonly Underground Railway

: a system of cooperation among active antislavery people in the U.S. before 1863 by which people escaping enslavement were secretly helped to reach the North or Canada

Examples of Underground Railroad in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Cohen, a historian, first traveled the Underground Railroad in 1996 from his home state of Maryland to Ontario, Canada. — Jericka Duncan, CBS News, 28 June 2026

An extensive Underground Railroad network ran through Connecticut. — Calista Oetama, Hartford Courant, 22 June 2026

Vereen stars as an Underground Railroad conductor who acts as an advisor, confidant and asset to the women for their spy ring. — Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 19 June 2026

McClellan, president of the Midwest Underground Railroad Network, was a member of the Illinois Underground Railroad Task Force reporting to the state legislature in 2024. — Melinda Moore, Chicago Tribune, 18 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Underground Railroad

• abode
• anode
• barcode
• bestowed
• boatload
• borrowed
• carload
• caseload
• cathode
• commode
• corrode
• crossroad

Kids Definition

Underground Railroad

noun

: a system of cooperation among active antislavery people in the U.S. before 1863 by which people escaping enslavement were secretly helped to reach the North or Canada