subway

noun

sub·​way ˈsəb-ˌwā 

: an underground way: such as

a

: a passage under a street (as for pedestrians, power cables, or water or gas mains)

b

: a usually electric underground railway

c

: underpass

subway intransitive verb

Examples of subway in a Sentence

I took the subway to midtown.

No one on the subway seemed to mind how crowded it was.

I've been on both the New York subway and the Underground in London.

Recent Examples on the Web

Thanks to its central location connecting the PATH train, 12 subway lines, the 9/11 Memorial, and One World Trade Center, the mall gets 60 million visits a year from commuters, tourists, office workers, and nearby residents. — Anne Kadet, Curbed, 24 Aug. 2026

Social media put the storm’s effects on display, with videos of floodwaters leaving cars stranded on highways, stormwater runoff erupting onto city streets and waterfalls cascading onto the subway tracks at Penn Station. — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2026

Sarin attack Among those executed in 2018 included guru Shoko Asahara and 12 former members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which orchestrated the 1995 sarin gas attacks on Tokyo's subway system that killed 14 people. — CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026

Summers in the Big Apple can bring torrential, sudden rains, with water flooding into intersections and cascading down subway stairs, while nor’easters are de rigueur in the winter. — Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 21 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1822, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing subway

• subway train

Rhymes for subway

• airway
• allay
• archway
• array
• ashtray
• assez
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway

Kids Definition

subway

noun

sub·​way ˈsəb-ˌwā 

1

: an underground passage

2

: a usually electric underground railway