[syn: dragoon, sandbag, railroad]
2. supply with railroad lines;
- Example: "railroad the West"
3. transport by railroad;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Railroad \Rail"road`\ (r[=a]l"r[=o]d`), Railway \Rail"way`\
(r[=a]l"w[=a]`), n.
1. A road or way consisting of one or more parallel series of
iron or steel rails, patterned and adjusted to be tracks
for the wheels of vehicles, and suitably supported on a
bed or substructure.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The modern railroad is a development and adaptation of
the older tramway.
[1913 Webster]
2. The road, track, etc., with all the lands, buildings,
rolling stock, franchises, etc., pertaining to them and
constituting one property; as, a certain railroad has been
put into the hands of a receiver.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Railway is the commoner word in England; railroad the
commoner word in the United States.
[1913 Webster]
Note: In the following and similar phrases railroad and
railway are used interchangeably:
[1913 Webster]
Atmospheric railway, Elevated railway, etc. See under
Atmospheric, Elevated, etc.
Cable railway. See Cable road, under Cable.
Ferry railway, a submerged track on which an elevated
platform runs, for carrying a train of cars across a water
course.
Gravity railway, a railway, in a hilly country, on which
the cars run by gravity down gentle slopes for long
distances after having been hauled up steep inclines to an
elevated point by stationary engines.
Railway brake, a brake used in stopping railway cars or
locomotives.
Railway car, a large, heavy vehicle with flanged wheels
fitted for running on a railway. [U.S.]
Railway carriage, a railway passenger car. [Eng.]
Railway scale, a platform scale bearing a track which forms
part of the line of a railway, for weighing loaded cars.
Railway slide. See Transfer table, under Transfer.
Railway spine (Med.), an abnormal condition due to severe
concussion of the spinal cord, such as occurs in railroad
accidents. It is characterized by ataxia and other
disturbances of muscular function, sensory disorders, pain
in the back, impairment of general health, and cerebral
disturbance, -- the symptoms often not developing till
some months after the injury.
Underground railroad Underground railway.
(a) A railroad or railway running through a tunnel, as
beneath the streets of a city.
(b) Formerly, a system of cooperation among certain active
antislavery people in the United States prior to 1866,
by which fugitive slaves were secretly helped to reach
Canada.
Note: [In the latter sense railroad, and not railway, was
usually used.] "Their house was a principal entrep[^o]t
of the underground railroad." --W. D. Howells.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Railroad \Rail"road`\, v. t.
To carry or send by railroad; usually fig., to send or put
through at high speed or in great haste; to hurry or rush
unduly; as, to railroad a bill through Condress. [Colloq., U.
S.]
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
railroad
n 1: line that is the commercial organization responsible for
operating a system of transportation for trains that pull
passengers or freight [syn: railway, railroad,
railroad line, railway line, railway system]
2: a line of track providing a runway for wheels; "he walked
along the railroad track" [syn: railroad track, railroad,
railway]
v 1: compel by coercion, threats, or crude means; "They
sandbagged him to make dinner for everyone" [syn:
dragoon, sandbag, railroad]
2: supply with railroad lines; "railroad the West"
3: transport by railroad
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
115 Moby Thesaurus words for "railroad":
L, accelerate, branch, browbeat, bulldoze, bully, bullyrag, bundle,
bustle, cable railway, coerce, cog railway, compel, constitute,
crowd, decree, dispatch, dragoon, drive on, el, electric railway,
elevated, elevated railway, embankment, enact, enact laws,
expedite, feeder, feeder line, filibuster, force, forward,
get the floor, gravity-operated railway, haste, hasten, hasten on,
have the floor, hector, hie on, horse railway, hurry, hurry along,
hurry on, hurry up, hustle, hustle up, intimidate, junction, kill,
lean on, legislate, light railroad, line, lobby through, logroll,
main line, metro, monorail, ordain, pass, pigeonhole, pocket,
precipitate, press, pressure, push, push on, push through,
put in force, put through, quicken, rack railway,
rack-and-pinion railway, rail, rail line, railroad through,
railway, roadbed, roadway, roll logs, rush, rush along, sidetrack,
siding, speed, speed along, speed up, spur, squeeze, stampede,
street railway, streetcar line, subway, switchback, table,
take the floor, terminal, terminus, track, tram, tramline, trestle,
trolley line, trunk, trunk line, tube, turnout, tyrannize,
underground, urge, veto, whip, whip along, yield the floor
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):
RAILROAD, n. The chief of many mechanical devices enabling us to get
away from where we are to where we are no better off. For this purpose
the railroad is held in highest favor by the optimist, for it permits
him to make the transit with great expedition.
U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):
Railroad, PA -- U.S. borough in Pennsylvania
Population (2000): 300
Housing Units (2000): 116
Land area (2000): 0.626665 sq. miles (1.623054 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 0.626665 sq. miles (1.623054 sq. km)
FIPS code: 63288
Located within: Pennsylvania (PA), FIPS 42
Location: 39.756761 N, 76.699396 W
ZIP Codes (1990):
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Railroad, PA
Railroad