subway

noun

sub·​way ˈsəb-ˌwā How to pronounce subway (audio)
: 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
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 Thursday’s subway violence follows a series of transit crimes across New York City – and just days after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed nearly 1,000 National Guard troops to combat rising lawlessness within the subway system. Jeff Winter, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 Failing to Impress: The M.T.A. is testing new fare gates to stop turnstile jumpers and metal platform barriers to keep riders safe in an effort to address some of the subway system’s most vexing problems. Ginia Bellafante, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024 According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), a man targeted the bystanders at the West 28th Street subway station in Manhattan on Feb. 5 at approximately 7:40 p.m. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 14 Mar. 2024 The city’s subways were already safe, the Democrat reasoned, but a show of force might help dispel anxieties more than any statistic. Philip Marcelo, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Mar. 2024 Crime is down in the subway system compared to the heights reached during the pandemic, but Hochul’s announcement comes after a string of high-profile incidents on the subway and a recent uptick in crime. Ian Duncan, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 On Friday evening, Hamlin allegedly approached the victim on the subway and accosted him with bigoted statements, the statement said. Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024 These moments would feel cartoonish were they not paired with some of the peculiar things Ale spots in the real world, such as a woman’s purse caught between subway doors and a child’s dollhouse abandoned between piles of trash bags on the sidewalk. Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2024 Changes With the Times: Brooklyn’s Market Hotel goes through a makeover to emerge as less punk and more hyperpop: An anniversary party at the music venue located beside the elevated tracks of a subway station was more about the present than the past. Kate Dwyer, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'subway.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1822, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of subway was in 1822

Dictionary Entries Near subway

Cite this Entry

“Subway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subway. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

subway

noun
sub·​way ˈsəb-ˌwā How to pronounce subway (audio)
1
: an underground passage
2
: a usually electric underground railway
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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