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

Thousands of London Underground staff—including drivers, signalers and maintenance workers—began rolling strike action on Sunday, triggering severe disruption across the city's subway network and threatening almost complete suspension of Tube services through Thursday. —Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025

The Line 14 subway extension now whisks you from Orly Airport to the city center in under half an hour, nudging airport trips off the road and onto rail. —Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025

During rush hour on the Boston subway, Littlefield struck up a conversation with the person seated next to him about workplace recognition. —Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 7 Sep. 2025

My ankles fully look like a map of the New York subway. —Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1822, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing subway

• subway train

Rhymes for subway

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

Kids Definition

subway

noun

sub·​way ˈsəb-ˌwā 

1

: an underground passage

2

: a usually electric underground railway