Underground Railroad

noun

variants or less commonly Underground Railway
: a system of cooperation among active antislavery people in the U.S. before 1863 by which people escaping enslavement were secretly helped to reach the North or Canada

Examples of Underground Railroad in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Following this, references to Harriet Tubman were temporarily removed from a National Park Service webpage about the Underground Railroad before being restored. Rebecca Schneid, Time, 13 July 2025 Several Midwest Underground Railroad Network board members, McClellan said, are engaged in working with school and community groups to tell freedom seeker stories in different ways and through different mediums, with assistance from the Chicago Association of African American Storytellers. Susan Degrane, Chicago Tribune, 8 July 2025 The area is rich in history, with nearby Bath (the state’s first settlement), and museums like the Washington Waterfront Underground Railroad Museum. Caroline Eubanks, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2025 The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center ranked second overall in the Best History Museum category, landing in the top three for the fifth year in a row. Kaycee Sloan, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for Underground Railroad

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Underground Railroad was in 1842

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Underground Railroad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Underground%20Railroad. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

Underground Railroad

noun
: a system of cooperation among active antislavery people in the U.S. before 1863 by which people escaping enslavement were secretly helped to reach the North or Canada

More from Merriam-Webster on Underground Railroad

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!