railroad

英 ['reɪlrəʊd] 美['relrod]

低频词CET4考研CET6扩展词汇

第三人称单数: railroads;过去式: railroaded;过去分词: railroaded;现在分词: railroading;

railroad 铁路，铁轨，强迫，促使

rail,铁轨，road,道路。引申比喻义强迫，迫使，来自火车这一庞然大物的比喻义。

railroad (n.): 1757, from rail (n.1) + road. Originally "road laid with rails for heavy wagons (in mining)." The process itself (but not the word) seems to have been in use by late 17c. Application to passenger and freight trains dates from 1825, though tending to be replaced in this sense in England by railway.
railroad (v.): "to convict quickly and perhaps unjustly," 1873, American English, from railroad (n.).
A person knowing more than might be desirable of the affairs, or perhaps the previous life of some powerful individual, high in authority, might some day ventilate his knowledge, possibly before a court of justice; but if his wisdom is railroaded to State's prison, his evidence becomes harmless. ["Wanderings of a Vagabond," New York, 1873]
Related: Railroaded; railroading. An earlier verb sense was "to have a mania for building railroads" (1847).

2. This town got a lot bigger when the railroad came in the 1860s.: 自从19世纪60年代通了火车之后，这座城镇变大了许多。

3. Bridges over railroad tracks root danger out in crossing.: 铁轨上空的天桥排除了穿行中的危险.

4. The railroad connects two cities, namely, New York and Chicago.: 这条铁路连接两个城市, 即纽约与芝加哥.

5. His enemies tried to railroad him to prison without a fair trial.: 他的敌人企图以轻率的审判使他坐牢.