el
1
8.6
- noun
- /ɛl/
- US
:
elevado
- It takes a six-car el train 10 seconds to pass a given point.
- el train
Examples
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I never thought that I'd be getting to work in the same amount of time taking that horrid CTA, but it turns out I do. Oddly, both the bus and the el are pretty much to the minute with their schedules (though that's not what they try to tell you in the media).
Blog text (24) -
Riding the el gives passengers a unique view of the city skyline from above.
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You can explain the difference in the sound of an el and a train on the ground.
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I might be crazy, but that train sounds like an el.
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New York has got an el.
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Just got back from work, had to take the el to the subway and walk a mile.
Blog text (16) -
The el train travels above the busy streets, making it easier to avoid traffic.
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In Chicago, the el connects various neighborhoods, offering a convenient way to commute.
Synonyms
A train line that runs on tracks raised above the street, often in cities
A railway that runs on raised tracks above the street
A raised track where electric trains run above the street on metal columns
A train line that runs on tracks high above the street
Compounds
- Literature
1
9.9
An imagined place in South America that early explorers thought had great wealth
1
7.5
A major 1942 World War II battle in North Africa where Allied forces defeated German and Italian armies
- Specialized
1
6.6
A repeated change in the temperature of surface water in the Pacific Ocean near the equator that affects weather worldwide
- Archaic
A former unit of money in El Salvador worth 100 cents used before the US dollar
A major 1942 battle near El Alamein in Egypt where British forces stop German troops led by Rommel
A major 1942 World War II battle in Egypt where Allied forces led by Montgomery defeat Rommel's German army
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
El comes from elevated, which means 'raised' or 'lifted', and became a short name for railways that run on tracks above the street. Think of elevator, which also lifts things up, and that is why an el is an above-street train.