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DictionarymetroUrban railway
noun

metro

MET-roh/ˈmetrəʊ/

A railway system for travel within a city, often underground.

Passengers board the metro at an underground platform.

Unmarked subway train stopped underground at simple platform, two adults boarding through open door, curved tunnel entrance shows underground context, limited cropped platform and carriage vignette on white, no route labels or signs.
Etymology
metroFrenchmetropolitan

French métropolitain meant 'metropolitan' in the name of the Paris railway. The subway sense therefore names transport serving a major city; the area sense retains the broader connection with the city itself.

In context

GeoAtlas 20:54
Rhode Island's compact size forces another bizarre anomaly. It only has one, the Providence metro area. Yet, the Providence metropolitan area is home to a staggering 1.6 million people
The Rhode Island Paradox: Why America’s Densest Corridor Has an Empty State

More examples

  • We took the metro to the museum.
  • A new metro station opened downtown.
  • The metro runs beneath the old neighborhood.

Forms

metro · metros

Similar words

subway
The usual American term when the railway is underground.
light rail
A related urban rail form, often with lighter vehicles and street-level sections.