railroad line
2
2.7
- noun
- /ˈreɪlˌrɔrd laɪn/
- US
:
línea de ferrocarril
- The railroad line transports goods across the country every day.
Examples
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The old railroad line, now unused, was turned into a scenic walking path.
-
The trail is an old railroad line, and there are old railroad bridges.
Blog text (20) -
The railroad line hasn't been used for years, but the Polish Government says it's been checked regularly.
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The miners built a road across the reservation to the Denver & Rio Grande railroad line in order to get the minerals to market.
Academic text (2016) -
Hardee's corps formed the left, protecting the railroad line and the depot at nearby Cass Station.
Academic text (2007) -
Every issue of Rails to Trails profiles an abandoned railroad line converted into a trail for hiking, walking, and biking.
Academic text (2009) -
Numerous grants help communities acquire abandoned railroad lines and convert them into recreational trails, like the Kal-Haven Trail and Frederick Meijer White Pine Trail.
Blog text (28) -
Many towns in the Midwest were built along the railroad line to facilitate trade.
Synonyms
575
3.0
A company or service that moves people and goods
303
1.0
A system of tracks and trains that carries people or goods
26
1.0
A company that runs trains to carry people or goods
1
2.7
A company that runs trains to carry people or goods on tracks
1
6.0
A small private train route that connects local towns to main railway lines
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'railroad' (a train network or company) combined with 'line' (a route, service, or branch) yields the sense of a specific rail route or service. This standard noun–noun compounding follows common English patterns and similar logic exists in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reliably infer the meaning.
Etymology
Railroad line comes from the simple picture of a long metal line of rails stretching between towns. The company that built and ran that set of rails was called a railroad or a railroad line, so today the phrase can mean the route or the company that 'carries people or goods'.