subways

Noun

subway (plural subways)

1. (Canada, Scotland, South Africa, US) An underground railway, especially for mass transit of people in urban areas.
   • He is going to Westminster by subway.
2. (Canada, Scotland, South Africa, US) A train that runs on such an underground railway.
   • Just before you leave, the subway comes. You get on. It stops at the next station.1981 April 29, Russel Baker, “And Only Sixty Cents”, in The New York Times
3. (Canada, US) A rapid transit system, regardless of the elevation of its right of way; a metro system.
4. (UK) An underground walkway, tunnel for pedestrians (called pedestrian underpass in US).
   • At Nairobi the mail waits an hour-and-a-half. The station has three long platforms, mostly covered in awnings, the island connected with the main platform (which is used by the mails in both directions) by a subway.1950 April, Timothy H. Cobb, “The Kenya-Uganda Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 265
5. An underground route for pipes, sewers, etc.
6. An underground route for creatures (e.g. bats).

See all 7 meanings of subway