1
a
: the bed on which the ties, rails, and ballast of a railroad rest
b
: the ballast or the upper surface of the ballast on which the ties rest
2
a
: the earth foundation of a road prepared for surfacing
b
: the part of the surface of a road traveled by vehicles
Examples of roadbed in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The roadbed may be washed out under the water, and you could be stranded or trapped.
—
Shelby Slade, The Arizona Republic, 28 May 2024
One officer leaped back onto the platform, but the other cop had trouble getting off the roadbed because his gun belt kept striking the lip of the platform, an NYPD spokesman said.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 16 May 2024
Building a prototype truck and small-scale charging roadbed will be much easier than rebuilding thousands of miles of powered roads and adapting EV technology.
—Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 25 Apr. 2024
Nearby, backhoes scooped up sections of the bridge’s roadbed into a pile that had jagged pieces of rebar hanging off it.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for roadbed 
Shelby Slade, The Arizona Republic, 28 May 2024
One officer leaped back onto the platform, but the other cop had trouble getting off the roadbed because his gun belt kept striking the lip of the platform, an NYPD spokesman said.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 16 May 2024
Building a prototype truck and small-scale charging roadbed will be much easier than rebuilding thousands of miles of powered roads and adapting EV technology.
—Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 25 Apr. 2024
Nearby, backhoes scooped up sections of the bridge’s roadbed into a pile that had jagged pieces of rebar hanging off it.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for roadbed
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'roadbed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near roadbed
Cite this Entry
“Roadbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roadbed. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
roadbed
noun
road·bed
-ˌbed 
1
: the foundation of a road or railroad
2
: the part of the surface of a road that vehicles travel on
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