Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense, plural rails, present participle railing, past tense, past participle railed
1. countable noun
A rail is a horizontal bar attached to posts or fixed round the edge of something as a fenceor support.
They had to walk across an emergency footbridge, holding onto a rope that servedas a rail.
She gripped the thin rail in the lift.
Synonyms: handle, railing, shaft, banister More Synonyms of rail
2. countable noun
A rail is a horizontal bar that you hang things on.
...frocks hanging from a rail.
This pair of curtains will fit a rail up to 7ft 6in wide.
3. countable noun [usually plural]
Rails are the steel bars which trains run on.
The train left the rails but somehow forced its way back onto the line.
Synonyms: track, points More Synonyms of rail
4. uncountable noun [oft NOUN noun]
If you travel or send something byrail, you travel or send it on a train.
The president traveled by rail to his home town.
...the electric rail link between Manchester and Sheffield.
5. verb
If you rail against something, you criticize it loudly and angrily.
[written]
He railed against hypocrisy and greed. [V + against/at]
I'd cursed him and railed at him. [Vagainst/at n]
Synonyms: complain, attack, abuse, blast More Synonyms of rail
6. See also railing
7.
See back on the rails
8.
See go off the rails
More Synonyms of rail
rail in British English1
(reɪl)
noun
1.
a horizontal bar of wood, metal, etc, supported by vertical posts, functioning as a fence, barrier, handrail, etc
2.
a horizontal bar fixed to a wall on which to hang things
a picture rail
3.
a horizontal framing member in a door or piece of panelling
Compare stile2
4. short for railing
5.
one of a pair of parallel bars laid on a prepared track, roadway, etc, that serve as a guide and running surface for the wheels of a railway train, tramcar, etc
6.
a. short for railway
b.
(as modifier)
rail transport
7. nautical
a trim for finishing the top of a bulwark
8. off the rails
verb(transitive)
9.
to provide with a rail or railings
10. (usually foll byin or off)
to fence (an area) with rails
Derived forms
railless (ˈrailless)
adjective
Word origin
C13: from Old French raille rod, from Latin rēgula ruler, straight piece of wood
rail in British English2
(reɪl)
verb
(intr; foll by at or against)
to complain bitterly or vehemently
to rail against fate
Derived forms
railer (ˈrailer)
noun
Word origin
C15: from Old French railler to mock, from Old Provençal ralhar to chatter, joke, from Late Latin ragere to yell, neigh
rail in British English3
(reɪl)
noun
any of various small wading birds of the genus Rallus and related genera: family Rallidae, order Gruiformes (cranes, etc). They have short wings, long legs, and dark plumage
Word origin
C15: from Old French raale, perhaps from Latin rādere to scrape
rail in American English1
(reɪl)
noun
1.
a bar of wood, metal, etc. placed horizontally between upright posts to serve as a barrier or support
2.
a fence or railing; specif., the fence surrounding the infield of a racetrack
3.
any of a series of parallel metal bars laid upon crossties or in the ground to make a track for railroad cars, streetcars, etc.
4.
a railroad or railway as a means of transportation
to travel by rail
5.
a horizontal piece of wood separating the panels in doors or wainscoting
6.
the rim of a billiard table
7. Nautical
a narrow, wooden or metal piece forming the top of a ship's bulwarks
verb transitive
8.
to supply with rails or a railing; fence
adjective
9.
of or pertaining to a railway or railroad
Idioms:
(go) off the rails
ride on a rail
Word origin
ME raile < OFr reille < L regula, rule
rail in American English2
(reɪl)
verb intransitive
to speak bitterly or reproachfully; complain violently
with against, at, or about
Derived forms
railer (ˈrailer)
noun
Word origin
ME raylen < MFr < railler < Prov ralhar < VL *ragulare, to bray < LL ragere, to bellow
rail in American English3
(reɪl)
nounWord forms: pluralrails or rail
any of a number of gruiform marsh birds (family Rallidae), characterized by short wings and tail, long toes, and a harsh cry
Word origin
ME rayle < MFr raale < raaler, to screech, rattle < VL *rasclare, to grate: orig. echoic
Examples of 'rail' in a sentence
rail
You can get very blasé about spectacular sights on rail journeys up here.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Thousands of properties would have to be demolished for the road and rail links alone.
The Sun (2016)
Rail lines were lifted and twisted by the force.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We need investment in rail and roads.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Heathrow must have the best rail links.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
One possibility could involve a package of rail and road improvements.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This is partly down to the faster rail links promised by HS2.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Our roads, rail and housing need an injection of cash to boost growth.
The Sun (2016)
I just hope she doesn't go off the rails again.
The Sun (2016)
Her belief is that a doubling in high-speed rail routes in the next decade will open up the Continent.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He sipped his coffee while he kicked at the steel foot rail and listened to it ring.
Zindell, David The Broken God (1993)
The skills of running a rail company are not easily transferred.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
He missed death by a few inches and landed just away from the live electric rail.
The Sun (2010)
See the scary rail track video online.
The Sun (2011)
The rails hand us down the line.
The Times Literary Supplement (2013)
This was a rail journey like no other.
The Sun (2015)
They are worried that a bid by him would jeopardise the second phase of the rail link.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Long distance rail commuters are not being held to ransom.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Passenger consultation must be an essential part of rail franchise negotiations.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Playing scared is the quickest route to the rail.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
It would cost a lot less and is near major road and rail links.
The Sun (2012)
But actual experience does not run on the rails of this theological logic.
Christianity Today (2000)
All of which suggests that better maintained rail track in the first place would avoid failures.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Next morning we were up bright and early and boarded the train again for the last leg of the rail trip.
The Sun (2011)
Our partnership came to a painfully abrupt end one afternoon when she ran off with me under a metal paddock rail.
Frankie Dettori with Jonathan Powell FRANKIE: The Autobiography of Frankie Dettori (2004)
You'd walk in and the curtains would be hanging off the rail.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The government should have the courage of its convictions over the new high-speed rail link as well.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Much of the detail of the house survives, including tubular steel balcony rails.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
While he was doing that you could hear the electric rail buzzing, meaning that the train was coming.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Inside are row upon row of metal shelving on rails, containing thousands of boxes stacked to the ceiling.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The coal turned out to be of such low quality that sending it by rail or lorry simply didn't make sense.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Labour warned Britain's top rail safety record is being dented.
The Sun (2014)
Roughly a third of the way up the fence is a guard rail - again in orange - which provides a sighting line for the jockeys.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Trains are greener than buses because steel wheels on steel rails have much less rolling resistance, and therefore use less energy, than rubber on concrete.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Word lists with
rail
bird
In other languages
rail
British English: rail /reɪl/ NOUN
A rail is a horizontal bar which is fixed to something and used as a fence or a support, or to hang things on.
She held on to the hand rail in the lift.
American English: rail
Arabic: سُور
Brazilian Portuguese: corrimão
Chinese: 扶手
Croatian: prečka
Czech: zábradlí
Danish: stang
Dutch: leuning
European Spanish: riel
Finnish: kaide
French: rampe
German: Umzäunung
Greek: κιγκλίδωμα
Italian: rotaia
Japanese: 柵
Korean: 가로장
Norwegian: gelender
Polish: poręcz
European Portuguese: corrimão
Romanian: bară
Russian: перила
Latin American Spanish: riel
Swedish: ledstång
Thai: ราว
Turkish: parmaklık
Ukrainian: перило
Vietnamese: chấn song
All related terms of 'rail'
dado rail
a moulding at about waist height on an interior wall, used for decoration and to protect the wall
fife rail
a rail at the base of a mast of a sailing vessel, fitted with pins for belaying running rigging
fly rail
a horizontally swinging bracket for supporting a drop leaf
foot rail
a stretcher connecting the legs of a piece of furniture , as a chair or table , upon which the feet may be rested
fuel rail
A fuel rail is high pressure tubing which takes fuel to the injectors in an internal combustion engine.
land rail
→ corncrake
live rail
an electric rail track
pin rail
a strong wooden rail or bar containing holes for belaying pins to which lines are fastened on sailing vessels
rail link
a rail connection , as between two main routes
rail rage
a sense of extreme frustration experienced by rail users when subjected to delays , cancellations , etc, sometimes resulting in aggressive behaviour towards railway employees
altar rail
a rail around or in front of the altar table in church, often cushioned on top, at which worshippers kneel to take communion or vows
chair rail
a molding on an interior wall for preventing the backs of chairs from rubbing against plaster
light rail
a transport system using small trains or trams , often serving parts of a large metropolitan area
plate rail
an early flat rail with an extended flange on its outer edge to retain wheels on the track
rail gauge
to measure or determine the amount, quantity, size, condition, etc, of
rail strike
a strike by railway workers
rail worker
Rail workers are people who work for the railway .
split rail
designating or of a fence made with rails split from logs
third rail
an extra rail from which an electric train picks up current by means of a sliding collector to feed power to its motors
towel rail
a rail or frame in a bathroom , etc, for hanging towels on
water rail
a large Eurasian rail , Rallus aquaticus, of swamps , ponds , etc, having a long red bill
British Rail
the organization that ran the British railway system from 1948 until privatization in the mid-1990s
bullhead rail
a rail having a cross section with a bulbous top and bottom , the top being larger
curtain rail
a rail from which a curtain is hung
flanged rail
a rail having a cross section like an inverted T , with the top extremity enlarged slightly to form the head
picture rail
A picture rail is a continuous narrow piece of wood which is fixed round a room just below the ceiling . Pictures can be hung from it using string and hooks .
rail-splitter
a person who splits logs into rails, as for fences
rail traffic
the vehicles, passengers , or freight that are moving from place to place by railway
communion rail
(in a Christian church) the rail in front of the altar at which people kneel when taking communion
free on rail
(of a consignment of goods) delivered to a railway station and loaded onto a train without charge to the buyer
rail transport
the system of taking passengers or goods from one place to another by railway
flat-bottomed rail
a rail having a cross section like an inverted T , with the top extremity enlarged slightly to form the head
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
the Rail-Splitter
→ Lincoln 2
guardrail
A guardrail is a railing that is placed along the edge of something such as a staircase, path , or boat , so that people can hold onto it or so that they do not fall over the edge.
post-and-rail tea
(in the 19th century) a coarse tea in which floating particles resembled a post-and-rail fence
Virginia (rail) fence
a zigzag fence made of rails laid across one another at the ends
post-and-rail fence
a fence constructed of upright wooden posts with horizontal timber slotted through it
snake fence
a fence made of rails interlocked in a zigzag pattern
Chinese translation of 'rail'
rail
(reɪl)
n(c)
(for safety on stairs) 扶手 (fúshǒu) (个(個), gè)
(on bridge, balcony) 横(橫)栏(欄) (hénglán) (个(個), gè)