subway
/ˈsʌbˌweɪ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.05 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An underground railway, especially for mass transit of people in urban areas.
Canadian usage; American usage
noun
A rapid transit system, regardless of the elevation of its right of way; a metro system.
Canadian usage; American usage
noun
An underground walkway, tunnel for pedestrians (called pedestrian underpass in US).
British usage
noun
An underground route for pipes, sewers, etc.
noun
An underground route for creatures (e.g. bats).
Example Sentences
- "He is going to Westminster by subway."
- "In 1884 Greathead was part of a syndicate that obtained powers for another subway – 'The City of London & Southwark Subway'. The term 'subway' sounded more sophisticated than 'underground railway', which was associated with the sulphurous Metropolitan, and it would be adopted by New York for its own electric metro when work started on that in 1904."
- "Just before you leave, the subway comes. You get on. It stops at the next station."
- "At Nairobi the mail waits an hour-and-a-half. The station has three long platforms, mostly covered in awnings, the island connected with the main platform (which is used by the mails in both directions) by a subway."
- "Heading beneath the tracks via the subway to the immediate north of the station takes us to the Didcot Railway Centre."
- "I suppose I could have subwayed around town in search of froufrou French pastry shops."
Etymology
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsʌbˌweɪ/
- British English: /ˈsʌbˌweɪ/