Rail Definition

rāl
railed, rails
noun
rails
A bar of wood, metal, etc. placed horizontally between upright posts to serve as a barrier or support.
Webster's New World
A fence or railing; specif., the fence surrounding the infield of a racetrack.
Webster's New World
A structure made of such bars and supports and forming a barrier or guard; a railing.
American Heritage
Any of a series of parallel metal bars laid upon crossties or in the ground to make a track for railroad cars, streetcars, etc.
Webster's New World
A grind rail.
American Heritage
verb
railed, rails
To express objections or criticisms in bitter, harsh, or abusive language.
American Heritage
To supply with rails or a railing; fence.
Webster's New World
To speak bitterly or reproachfully; complain violently.
Webster's New World

(intransitive) To travel by railway.

Wiktionary
To range in a line.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
adjective
Of or pertaining to a railway or railroad.
Webster's New World
idiom
(go) off the rails
  • (to go) off the proper course
  • (to become) insane
Webster's New World
ride on a rail
  • to place on a rail and carry out of the community: extralegal punishment in which the victim was usually tarred and feathered beforehand
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Rail

Noun

Singular:
rail
Plural:
rails

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Rail

Origin of Rail

  • Middle English railen from Old French railler to tease, joke from Old Provençal ralhar to chat, joke from Vulgar Latin ragulāre to bray from Late Latin ragere

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • French râle, Old French rasle. Compare Medieval Latin rallus. Named from its harsh cry, Vulgar Latin *rasculum, from Latin rādere (“to scrape").

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English raile from Old French raale perhaps from Old French raler, racler to scrape from Old Provençal rasclar raclette

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English raile from Old French reille from Latin rēgula straight piece of wood, ruler reg- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Old French reille, Latin regula (“rule, bar"), from regere (“to rule, to guide, to govern"); see regular.

    From Wiktionary

  • Probably from Anglo-Norman raier, Middle French raier.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle French railler.

    From Wiktionary

  • Old English hræġl.

    From Wiktionary

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