guardrail
noun
guard·rail
ˈgärd-ˌrāl 
: a railing guarding usually against danger
especially
: a barrier placed along the edge of a highway at dangerous points
Examples of guardrail in a Sentence
the car ran off the road, but fortunately only hit the guardrail
Recent Examples on the Web
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has traditionally been a powerful guardrail in American government.
—
Charlie Savage, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
Without these guardrails, organizations risk employees inadvertently exposing sensitive business information as well as relying on unverified AI outputs.
—Pawel Rzeszucinski, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
This will exist below us in a new human-machine societal hierarchy, as they are constrained to do our bidding by guardrails built into these systems.
—Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
As the Nissan became disabled on top of the guardrail, the driver, later identified as Hernandez, allegedly got out the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot, according to state police.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 1 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for guardrail
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Charlie Savage, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
Without these guardrails, organizations risk employees inadvertently exposing sensitive business information as well as relying on unverified AI outputs.
—Pawel Rzeszucinski, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
This will exist below us in a new human-machine societal hierarchy, as they are constrained to do our bidding by guardrails built into these systems.
—Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
As the Nissan became disabled on top of the guardrail, the driver, later identified as Hernandez, allegedly got out the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot, according to state police.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 1 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for guardrail
Cite this Entry
“Guardrail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guardrail. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
guardrail
noun
guard·rail
ˈgär-ˌdrāl
: a protective railing placed along dangerous areas (as of a road)
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share