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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
This novel offers a new perspective on the workings of the Underground Railroad, with its setting across several actual communities in northern Ohio in the mid-19th century.
—The Know, The Denver Post, 3 Nov. 2024
It's believed that Broderick and his friend Col. Leonides K. Haskell, both outspoken anti-slavery officials, had hidden runaway slaves from the Underground Railroad in the cellar of Haskell's house.
—Shawna Chen, Axios, 30 Oct. 2024
Yes, Mahalia!, 7:30 p.m., National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 E. Freedom Way, Downtown.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 20 Oct. 2024
And Spit on the Broom was a surrealist doc that put the history of the African American women’s group the United Order of Tents, a clandestine organization organized in the 1840s during the height of the Underground Railroad, center stage.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Oct. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1842, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of Underground Railroad was
in 1842
Dictionary Entries Near Underground Railroad
Cite this Entry
“Underground Railroad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Underground%20Railroad. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Underground Railroad
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