- Brit an underground passage or tunnel enabling pedestrians to cross a road, railway, etc
- an underground passage or tunnel for traffic, electric power supplies, etc
- chiefly US Canadian an underground railway
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
sub•way /ˈsʌbˌweɪ/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Transport, British Termsan underground electric railroad: [countable]no delays this morning on the subways. [uncountable;
by + ~]to travel by subway. - British Terms[countable][Chiefly Brit.]a short tunnel or underground passageway;
underpass.
sub•way
(sub′wā′),USA pronunciation n.
v.i.
- Transport, British TermsAlso called,[esp. Brit.,] tube, underground. an underground electric railroad, usually in a large city.
- British Terms[Chiefly Brit.]a short tunnel or underground passageway for pedestrians, automobiles, etc.;
underpass.
v.i.
- Transportto be transported by a subway:We subwayed uptown.
- sub- + way1 1820–30
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
subway /ˈsʌbˌweɪ/ n
'subway' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
tube
- underground
- underpass
- accustomed
- car card
- carfare
- congest
- criminalize
- headway
- jostle
- lift
- metro
- motorman
- off-hour
- rail rapid transit
- rapid transit
- tube railway
- underground railroad
- strap
- straphanger
- sub