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

Inside, there isn’t much character to the white-box bedrooms, but there are three of them and three bathrooms with penny-tile floors and white subway tile on the walls. — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 3 Aug. 2026

So elevators even predate subways, yet the MTA had to be sued to provide this basic service. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 3 Aug. 2026

It was draped over bars, painted onto subway walls and tattooed onto calves and forearms. — ABC News, 31 July 2026

More than 56,000 people sheltered in Kyiv’s subway stations overnight, according to the Facebook post from the capital’s metro. — Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 30 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