railroad

1 of 2

verb

railroaded; railroading; railroads

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

: to work for a railroad company

railroader noun

railroader

2 of 2

noun

rail·​road·​er

ˈrāl-ˌrō-dər, 

ˈrel-;

ˈre-ˌrō-

plural -s

: a railroad employee or official

Examples of railroad in a Sentence

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

Verb

Now the tie-up with Meta threatened to railroad what had become a stalwart business providing infrastructure to the most valuable companies in AI. —Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 19 May 2026

The main roundhouse that houses the knockout collection of American railroading treasures remains untouched, but parts of the property facing the Pigtown neighborhood are being completely reimagined. —Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 8 May 2026

In a sneak peek of the final episode shared with Variety, Nelson finally gets a proof-of-life from his ex-wife Marsha (Christine Adams), who is being hunted in the woods by accomplices of the same shadowy figures that have railroaded Nelson into hijacking the train. —K.j. Yossman, Variety, 2 Mar. 2026

Superintendent Joe Maluchnik was placed on administrative leave last year and one board member said that the district leader was a whistleblower being railroaded for questioning past financial practices. —Mike Darnay, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

and Noun

First Known Use

Verb

1829, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing railroad

• railroad bridge
• railroad crossing
• railroad flat
• railroad worm

Rhymes for railroad

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

Kids 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 verb

1

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