UNDERGROUND RAILROAD Definition & Meaning

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underground railroad

noun

Also called underground railway. a railroad running through a continuous tunnel, as under city streets; subway.
(often initial capital letters) U.S. History. (before the abolition of slavery) a system for helping African Americans fleeing slavery to escape into Canada or other places of safety.

underground railroad

noun

often capitals (in the pre-Civil War US) the system established by abolitionists to aid escaping slaves

Underground Railroad

A network of houses and other places that abolitionists used to help slaves escape to freedom in the northern states or in Canada before the Civil War . The escaped slaves traveled from one “station” of the railroad to the next under cover of night. Harriet Tubman was the most prominent “conductor” on the Underground Railroad.

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of underground railroad¹

First recorded in 1825–35

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Idioms and Phrases

A secret network for moving and housing fugitives, as in There's definitely an underground railroad helping women escape abusive husbands . This term, dating from the first half of the 1800s, alludes to the network that secretly transported runaway slaves through the northern states to Canada. It was revived more than a century later for similar escape routes.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The first women to earn bachelor’s degrees in 1836 did so at Oberlin College, an abolitionist institution that was also a stopover point on one of the many networks of the Underground Railroad that supported African Americans freeing themselves from slavery.

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“The Underground Railroad” star Pierre voiced Mufasa in Barry Jenkins’ prequel “Mufasa: The Lion King,” which hit screens in December and earned a Razzie nomination for worst remake, rip-off or sequel.

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Churches played a role in the anti-slavery Underground Railroad that guided fugitives northward.

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“You might see a model of the Underground Railroad being practiced here,” Torres said.

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With two major movies opening next month, filmmaker Barry Jenkins discusses ‘Mufasa,’ ‘The Fire Inside’ and bouncing back from near-catastrophe on ‘The Underground Railroad.’

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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