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

Restaurants near the Theater District fill up fast for the matinee crowd, sightseeing lines stretch long, and sprinting from the subway to your seat with two minutes to spare is not the way to start a night out. — Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 13 July 2026

Outside the dojo, on the soccer sidelines, in a packed subway car, stroller braced between the knees, wherever. — Literary Hub, 13 July 2026

When Chanel sent a camel half-zip and a pair of jeans down the runway (ahem, subway platform) to open their pre-fall show, the look was an instant fan favorite. — Rosie Jarman, Vogue, 10 July 2026

Many bus riders live in neighborhoods historically underserved by transit — large stretches of eastern Queens, southeast Brooklyn, the eastern Bronx, and Staten Island, where residents often live far from subway stations. — Mike Flynn, New York Daily News, 9 July 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