Link Centre Dictionary

rail

UK/ɹeɪ(ə)l/ US/ɹeɪ(ə)ɫ/ fairly common slang
noun (5) verb (10)

noun

1.

a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports

Synonyms
2.

short for railway

  • “he traveled by rail”
  • “he was concerned with rail safety”
3.

a bar or bars of rolled steel making a track along which vehicles can roll

Synonyms
4.
5.

any of numerous widely distributed small wading birds of the family Rallidae having short wings and very long toes for running on soft mud

verb

1.
2.

enclose with rails

  • “rail in the old graves”
Synonyms
3.

provide with rails

  • “The yard was railed”
4.

separate with a railing

  • “rail off the crowds from the Presidential palace”
Synonyms
5.

convey (goods etc.) by rails

  • “fresh fruit are railed from Italy to Belgium”
6.

travel by rail or train

  • “They railed from Rome to Venice”
  • “She trained to Hamburg”
Synonyms
7.

lay with rails

  • “hundreds of miles were railed out here”
8.

fish with a hand-line over the rails of a boat

  • “They are railing for fresh fish”
9.

spread negative information about

  • “The Nazi propaganda vilified the Jews”
Synonyms
10.

criticize severely

  • “He fulminated against the Republicans”
  • “;”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English rail, rayl, *reȝel, *reȝol (found in reȝolsticke (“a ruler”)), partly from Old English regol (“a ruler, straight bar”) and partly from Old French reille; both from Latin regula (“rule, bar”), from regō (“to rule, to guide, to govern”); see regular. Doublet of regal, regula, rigol, and rule.

Phrases

  • bow rail Terms derived from the noun rail
  • bullhead rail Terms derived from the noun rail
  • by rail Terms derived from the noun rail
  • cant rail Terms derived from the noun rail
  • chair rail Terms derived from the noun rail
  • check rail Terms derived from the noun rail
  • common rail Terms derived from the noun rail
  • commuter rail Terms derived from the noun rail

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.