subway
/ˈsʌbˌweɪ/noun, verb
subway is spelled S-U-B-W-A-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, subway means “An underground railway, especially for mass transit of people in urban areas” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of subway is subways.
How many letters and syllables are in subway?
| Letters | 6: S-U-B-W-A-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is subway?
Subway appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce subway?
- US /ˈsʌbˌweɪ/
- US [ˈsʌbˌweɪ̯]
Subway has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-subway.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with subway?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as subway (/ʌbweɪ/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: busway.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of subway
- subways plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- subwaying participle, present
- subwayed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does subway mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
CanadaScotlandUSAn underground railway, especially for mass transit of people in urban areas.
He is going to Westminster by subway.
- 2
CanadaScotlandUSA train that runs on such an underground railway.
- 3
CanadaUSA rapid transit system, regardless of the elevation of its right of way; a metro system.
- 4
UKAn underground walkway, tunnel for pedestrians (called pedestrian underpass in US).
- 5
An underground route for pipes, sewers, etc.
- 6
An underground route for creatures (e.g. bats).
verb
- 1
USinformalTo travel by underground railway.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Subway in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | métro, métropolitain , passage souterrain, souterrain |
| German | U-Bahn, Metro , Unterführung |
| Portuguese | metro, metrô , passagem subterrânea |
| Spanish | metro, subte , paso subterráneo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does subway come from?
From sub- + way.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).