Standard Lemma guide

subway

noun · verb · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK, US: /ˈsʌbˌweɪ/
  • UK, US: [ˈsʌbˌweɪ̯]
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ʌbweɪ
  • CMU ARPABET: S AH1 B W EY2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An underground railway, especially for mass transit of people in urban areas.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Canada, Scotland, South-Africa, US

Examples

  • He is going to Westminster by subway.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A train that runs on such an underground railway.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Canada, Scotland, South-Africa, US

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A rapid transit system, regardless of the elevation of its right of way; a metro system.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Canada, US

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

An underground walkway, tunnel for pedestrians (called pedestrian underpass in US).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

An underground route for pipes, sewers, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

An underground route for creatures (e.g. bats).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To travel by underground railway.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, informal, intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

an electric railway operating below the surface of the ground (usually in a city)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • in Paris the subway system is called the `metro' and in London it is called the `tube' or the `underground'

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: metro, tube, underground, subway system

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: railway, railroad, railroad line, railway line, railway system

9

noun

Meaning 9

an underground tunnel or passage enabling pedestrians to cross a road or railway

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: underpass

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tunnel

History

Etymology

From sub- + way.

Across languages

Translations

189 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: moltrein — underground railway
  • Afrikaans: moltreinspoor — underground railway
  • Albanian: metro — underground railway
  • Arabic: مِتْرُو (mitrū) — underground railway
  • Arabic: مِتْرُو (metro) — underground railway
  • Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܹܛܪܘܿ (meṭro) — underground railway
  • Armenian: մետրո (metro) — underground railway
  • Armenian: մետրոպոլիտեն (metropoliten) — underground railway
  • Asturian: metro — underground railway
  • Azerbaijani: metro — underground railway
  • Belarusian: метро́ (mjetró) — underground railway
  • Bengali: মেট্রো (meṭrō) — underground railway
  • Bengali: আন্ডারগ্রাউন্ড (anḍargraunḍ) — underground railway
  • Bengali: সাবওয়ে (śabōẇe) — underground railway
  • Bengali: দ্রুত পরিবহণ (drut poribohon) — underground railway
  • Bulgarian: метро́ (metró) — underground railway
  • Burmese: မြေအောက်မီးရထား (mreaukmi:ra.hta:) — underground railway
  • Catalan: metro — underground railway
  • Chinese Cantonese: 地鐵 /地铁 (dei6 tit3) — underground railway
  • Eastern Min Chinese: 地鐵 /地铁 (dê-tiék) — underground railway
  • Hakka Chinese: 捷運 /捷运 (chhia̍p-yun) — underground railway
  • Chinese: 地下鐵 /地下铁 (zh-min-nan) — underground railway
  • Chinese: 地鐵 /地铁 (tē-thih) — underground railway
  • Chinese Mandarin: 地鐵 /地铁 (dìtiě) — underground railway
  • Chinese Mandarin: 地下鐵路 /地下铁路 (dìxià tiělù) — underground railway
  • Chinese Mandarin: 捷運 /捷运 (jiéyùn) — underground railway
  • Chinese Mandarin: 地下鐵 /地下铁 (dìxiàtiě) — underground railway
  • Wu Chinese: 地鐵 /地铁 (6di-thiq) — underground railway
  • Czech: metro — underground railway
  • Czech: podzemní dráha — underground railway
  • Danish: metro — underground railway
  • Danish: undergrundsbane — underground railway
  • Danish: tunnelbane — underground railway
  • Dutch: metro — underground railway
  • Erzya: модалкс (modalks) — underground railway
  • Esperanto: metroo — underground railway
  • Esperanto: S-fervojo — underground railway
  • Esperanto: subtera fervojo — underground railway
  • Estonian: metroo — underground railway
  • Estonian: allmaaraudtee — underground railway
  • Finnish: metro — underground railway
  • Finnish: maanalainen — underground railway
  • French: métro — underground railway
  • French: métropolitain — underground railway
  • West-Frisian: metro — underground railway
  • Georgian: მეტრო (meṭro) — underground railway
  • Georgian: მეტროპოლიტენი (meṭroṗoliṭeni) — underground railway
  • German: U-Bahn — underground railway
  • German: Metro — underground railway
  • Greek: μετρό (metró) — underground railway
  • Greek: υπόγειος (ypógeios) — underground railway
  • Hebrew: מֶטְרוֹ (metró) — underground railway
  • Hebrew: רַכֶּבֶת תַּחְתִּית (rakévet takhtít) — underground railway
  • Hindi: भूमिगत रेल (bhūmigat rel) — underground railway
  • Hindi: मीट्रो (mīṭro) — underground railway
  • Hindi: मेट्रो (meṭro) — underground railway
  • Hungarian: metró — underground railway
  • Hungarian: földalatti — underground railway
  • Icelandic: neðanjarðarlest — underground railway
  • Ido: metropoliteno — underground railway
  • Indonesian: kereta api bawah tanah — underground railway
  • Interlingua: metro — underground railway
  • Irish: traein faoi thalamh — underground railway
  • Italian: metro — underground railway
  • Italian: metrò — underground railway
  • Italian: metropolitana — underground railway
  • Japanese: 地下鉄 (chikatetsu) — underground railway
  • Japanese: メトロ (metoro) — underground railway
  • Kazakh: метро (metro) — underground railway
  • Khmer: ម៉េត្រូ (meetrou) — underground railway
  • Khmer: ផ្លូវក្រោមដី (phləw kraom dəy) — underground railway
  • Korean: 지하철 (jihacheol) — underground railway
  • Korean: 전철 (jeoncheol) — underground railway
  • Korean: 도시철도 (dosicheoldo) — underground railway
  • Korean: 메트로 (meteuro) — underground railway
  • Kyrgyz: метро (metro) — underground railway
  • Lao: ລົດໄຟໃຕ້ດິນ (lot fai tai din) — underground railway
  • Latin: ferrivia metropolitana — underground railway
  • Latvian: metro — underground railway
  • Lithuanian: metro — underground railway
  • Macedonian: метро́ (metró) — underground railway
  • Malay: kereta api bawah tanah — underground railway
  • Mongolian: метро (metro) — underground railway
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tunnelbane — underground railway
  • Norwegian Bokmål: T-bane — underground railway
  • Norwegian Bokmål: metro — underground railway
  • Norwegian Bokmål: undergrunnsbane — underground railway
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: tunnelbane — underground railway
  • Pannonian Rusyn: метро (metro) — underground railway
  • Pannonian Rusyn: под'жемни гайзибан (pod'žemni hajziban) — underground railway
  • Pashto: مېترو (metro) — underground railway
  • Iranian Persian: مِتْرو (metro) — underground railway
  • Polish: metro — underground railway
  • Polish: kolej podziemna — underground railway
  • Portuguese: metro — underground railway
  • Portuguese: metrô — underground railway
  • Romanian: metrou — underground railway
  • Romanian: metro — underground railway
  • Romanian: metropolitan — underground railway
  • Russian: метро́ (metró) — underground railway
  • Russian: метрополите́н (metropolitɛ́n) — underground railway
  • Russian: подзе́мка (podzémka) — underground railway
  • Scottish Gaelic: fo-rèile — underground railway
  • Serbo-Croatian: мѐтро̄ — underground railway
  • Serbo-Croatian: mètrō — underground railway
  • Spanish: metro — underground railway
  • Spanish: subte — underground railway
  • Swedish: tunnelbana — underground railway
  • Swedish: T-bana — underground railway
  • Swedish: metro — underground railway
  • Tagalog: metro — underground railway
  • Tajik: метро (metro) — underground railway
  • Thai: รถไฟใต้ดิน (rót-fai-dtâi-din) — underground railway
  • Thai: เมโทร (mee-troo) — underground railway
  • Tibetan: ས་འོག་ལྕགས་ལམ (sa 'og lcags lam) — underground railway
  • Turkish: metro — underground railway
  • Turkmen: metro — underground railway
  • Ukrainian: метро́ (metró) — underground railway
  • Urdu: میٹْرو (meṭro) — underground railway
  • Urdu: مَیٹْرو (maiṭro) — underground railway
  • Urdu: مِیٹْرو (mīṭro) — underground railway
  • Uyghur: مېترو (mëtro) — underground railway
  • Uzbek: metro — underground railway
  • Vietnamese: tàu điện ngầm — underground railway
  • Vietnamese: mê-tơ-rô — underground railway
  • Vietnamese: metro — underground railway
  • Welsh: rheilffordd danddaearol — underground railway
  • Yiddish: מעטראָ (metro) — underground railway
  • Afrikaans: moltrein — train of underground railway
  • Catalan: metro — train of underground railway
  • Czech: metro — train of underground railway
  • Dutch: metro — train of underground railway
  • Dutch: metrostel — train of underground railway
  • Esperanto: metroo — train of underground railway
  • Esperanto: S-trajno — train of underground railway
  • Esperanto: subtrajno — train of underground railway
  • Finnish: metrojuna — train of underground railway
  • German: U-Bahn — train of underground railway
  • Polish: metro — train of underground railway
  • Portuguese: metrô — train of underground railway
  • Portuguese: metro — train of underground railway
  • Spanish: metro — train of underground railway
  • Vietnamese: tàu điện ngầm — train of underground railway
  • Arabic: نَفَق مُشَاة (nafaq mušāh) — underground walkway
  • Armenian: գետնանցում (getnancʻum) — underground walkway
  • Belarusian: падзе́мны перахо́д (padzjémny pjeraxód) — underground walkway
  • Bulgarian: по́длез (pódlez) — underground walkway
  • Chinese Mandarin: 地下道 (dìxiàdào) — underground walkway
  • Czech: podchod — underground walkway
  • Danish: fodgængertunnel — underground walkway
  • Dutch: voetgangerstunnel — underground walkway
  • Dutch: fietstunnel — underground walkway
  • Finnish: jalankulkutunneli — underground walkway
  • Finnish: alikäytävä — underground walkway
  • French: passage souterrain — underground walkway
  • French: souterrain — underground walkway
  • Georgian: მიწისქვეშა გადასასვლელი (mic̣iskveša gadasasvleli) — underground walkway
  • German: Unterführung — underground walkway
  • Greek: υπόγεια διάβαση πεζών (ypógeia diávasi pezón) — underground walkway
  • Hungarian: aluljáró — underground walkway
  • Icelandic: undirgöng — underground walkway
  • Interlingua: passage subterranee — underground walkway
  • Irish: íosbhealach — underground walkway
  • Italian: sottopasso — underground walkway
  • Japanese: 地下道 (chikadō) — underground walkway
  • Korean: 지하도 (jihado) — underground walkway
  • Korean: 토끼굴 (tokkigul) — underground walkway
  • Macedonian: подземен премин (podzemen premin) — underground walkway
  • Macedonian: подвозник (podvoznik) — underground walkway
  • Malay: jalan bawah tanah — underground walkway
  • Malay: jabanah — underground walkway
  • Norwegian Bokmål: gangtunnel — underground walkway
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: gangtunnel — underground walkway
  • Iranian Persian: زیرْگُذَر (zirgozar) — underground walkway
  • Polish: przejście podziemne — underground walkway
  • Portuguese: passagem subterrânea — underground walkway
  • Romanian: pasaj subteran — underground walkway
  • Russian: подзе́мный перехо́д (podzémnyj perexód) — underground walkway
  • Scottish Gaelic: fo-shlighe — underground walkway
  • Scottish Gaelic: fo-rathad — underground walkway
  • Serbo-Croatian: по̀тходнӣк — underground walkway
  • Serbo-Croatian: по̀двожња̄к — underground walkway
  • Serbo-Croatian: pòthodnīk — underground walkway
  • Serbo-Croatian: pòdvožnjāk — underground walkway
  • Slovak: podchod — underground walkway
  • Spanish: paso subterráneo — underground walkway
  • Swedish: kulvert — underground walkway
  • Ukrainian: підзе́мний перехі́д (pidzémnyj perexíd) — underground walkway
  • Vietnamese: hầm đi bộ — underground walkway
Real reading context

subway in complete knowledge articles