1
a
: the bed on which the ties, rails, and ballast of a railroad rest
b
: the ballast or the upper surface of the ballast on which the ties rest
2
a
: the earth foundation of a road prepared for surfacing
b
: the part of the surface of a road traveled by vehicles
Examples of roadbed in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The mined and blasted rock will be sold for roadbed construction and would leave a hole in the ground large enough to store nearly 40 billion gallons of Lake Okeechobee overflow.
—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 21 May 2025
The ship struck the bottom side of the roadbed portion of the Brooklyn Bridge, officials with the New York Police Department (NYPD) told Fox News.
Flags and debris from the ship plummeted into the water below, as the vessel rocked back and forth, pushing its way under the landmark.
—Alexandra Koch , Alexis McAdams , Cb Cotton , Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2025
The Dominican Republic find that took them deeper — and therefore further back in time — happened by chance, when a work crew dug down to prepare a new roadbed.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
New York Open Data showed that certain types of delays, such as those related to braking issues, rail and roadbed problems and service delivery, decreased on the A line from September to December.
—Nic F. Anderson, CNN, 9 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for roadbed
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 21 May 2025
The ship struck the bottom side of the roadbed portion of the Brooklyn Bridge, officials with the New York Police Department (NYPD) told Fox News.
Flags and debris from the ship plummeted into the water below, as the vessel rocked back and forth, pushing its way under the landmark.
—Alexandra Koch , Alexis McAdams , Cb Cotton , Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2025
The Dominican Republic find that took them deeper — and therefore further back in time — happened by chance, when a work crew dug down to prepare a new roadbed.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
New York Open Data showed that certain types of delays, such as those related to braking issues, rail and roadbed problems and service delivery, decreased on the A line from September to December.
—Nic F. Anderson, CNN, 9 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for roadbed
Cite this Entry
“Roadbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roadbed. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
roadbed
noun
road·bed
-ˌbed 
1
: the foundation of a road or railroad
2
: the part of the surface of a road that vehicles travel on
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share