Standard Lemma guide

subway-surface

noun · 1 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.

  • /ˌsʌb.weɪ̯ ˈsɝːfɨs/
  • General-American: [ˌsəb.wej ˈsɚ.fɪs]
  • Received-Pronunciation: [ˌsʌb.wej ˈsɝː.fɨs]
  • British, Southern, Standard: [ˌsʌb.we̞j ˈsəː.fəs]
  • [ˌsab.wej ˈsɜ.fɐs] Ghanaian

1

noun

Meaning 1

Streetcar lines whose sections in the city center operate in tunnels like subway lines; typically built to speed up streetcar service by bypassing congested streets, as provision for future conversion to rapid transit, or both.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US

Topics: rail-transport, railways, transport

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: prémétro — streetcar line or network with a rapid transit-style city center tunnel
  • German: Stadtbahn — streetcar line or network with a rapid transit-style city center tunnel