Definition

1. Noun:

   • A permanent road consisting of a line of parallel metal rails fixed to sleepers, providing a track for trains: A system of transportation using wheeled vehicles running on these tracks.
   • The commercial organization responsible for operating such a system: The company that manages train services for passengers or freight.

2. Verb:

   • To transport by means of a railroad: To send goods or people via train.
   • To supply an area with railroad lines: To construct railway infrastructure.
   • To compel or force someone to do something hastily or through coercion: To push something through with undue speed or pressure, often unfairly.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The old railroad was crucial for transporting coal from the mines.
  • He worked for a major railroad for over thirty years.

• Verb:

  • The company will railroad the shipment to the coast by tomorrow.
  • The government planned to railroad the entire region to boost trade.
  • The committee tried to railroad the new policy through without proper debate.

Advanced Usage

• "to railroad someone into something": To pressure or force someone into a decision or action.

  • They tried to railroad me into signing the contract immediately.

• "to railroad a bill/law": To force a piece of legislation to be passed quickly, bypassing normal procedures.

  • The party leadership used its majority to railroad the bill through parliament.

Variants and Related Words

• Railroading (n): The action or business of working on or constructing railroads. It can also mean the act of forcing something through.

  • His career was in railroading.
  • The railroading of the verdict was a scandal.

• Railroaded (adj): Describing someone who has been convicted or forced into something unfairly or hastily.

  • He felt like a railroaded defendant.

Synonyms

• Noun: Railway, railway line, train line.
• Verb (transport): Ship by train, send by rail.
• Verb (force): Coerce, strong-arm, bulldoze, steamroller.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions

• Railroad through: To force something to be accepted or completed quickly.
  • The manager railroaded the changes through while the team was distracted.

Related Idioms

• "Like a runaway train": Used to describe something that is out of control or progressing with unstoppable speed. (While not containing "railroad," it is conceptually related to trains and uncontrolled momentum, similar to the verb sense of 'railroad'.)
  • The project failed, it was like a runaway train from the start.

Noun

1. a line of track providing a runway for wheels
   • he walked along the railroad track
2. line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight

Verb

1. transport by railroad
2. supply with railroad lines
   • railroad the West
3. compel by coercion, threats, or crude means
   • They sandbagged him to make dinner for everyone