Illustration of rail
1
a
: a bar extending from one post or support to another and serving as a guard or barrier
b
: a structural member or support
2
a
b
: a light structure serving as a guard at the outer edge of a ship's deck
c
: a fence bounding a racetrack
plural rail or rails
: any of numerous wading birds (family Rallidae, the rail family) that are of small or medium size and have short rounded wings, a short tail, and usually very long toes which enable them to run on the soft mud of marshes
railed; railing; rails
: to revile or scold in harsh, insolent, or abusive language
railer
noun
Examples of rail in a Sentence
Noun (1)
the stairs are icy, so hold onto the rail
an abandoned stretch of rail that was overgrown with brush
Verb (2)
we could hear the cook in the kitchen railing against his assistant and wondered if we'd ever get our food
Recent Examples on the Web
Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 23 May 2025
While Ramaphosa kept his composure and the meeting did not go off the rails like the infamous February meeting in the Oval Office between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the South African president was clearly put on his heels by Trump’s tactics.
—Brett Samuels, The Hill, 21 May 2025
Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN Money, 28 May 2025
The biggest community of critics reside in a sub-Reddit dedicated to railing against the story and more specifically, Abby’s role in it, which has been an incubator for hateful rhetoric and harassment against those involved with The Last of Us Part II for the last five years.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rail
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Noun
There, he’s been working on high-speed rail, notably the long-beleaguered effort to build fast train lines up and down the spine of California.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 23 May 2025
While Ramaphosa kept his composure and the meeting did not go off the rails like the infamous February meeting in the Oval Office between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the South African president was clearly put on his heels by Trump’s tactics.
—Brett Samuels, The Hill, 21 May 2025
Verb
One by one, each council member’s name is read from a list, then their photo is taped to a railing onstage.
—Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN Money, 28 May 2025
The biggest community of critics reside in a sub-Reddit dedicated to railing against the story and more specifically, Abby’s role in it, which has been an incubator for hateful rhetoric and harassment against those involved with The Last of Us Part II for the last five years.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rail
Cite this Entry
“Rail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rail. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rail
1 of 4 noun1
a
: a bar extending from one support to another and serving as a guard or barrier
b
2
a
: a bar of steel forming a track for wheeled vehicles
b
: railroad
rail
2 of 4 verb
: to provide with a railing
rail
3 of 4 noun
plural rails or rail
: any of various small wading birds related to the cranes
rail
4 of 4 verb
: to scold or complain in harsh or bitter language
railer
noun
Etymology
Noun
Middle English raile "bar, rail," from early French raille, reille "bar, ruler," from Latin regula "straightedge, ruler," from regere "to lead straight, govern, rule" — related to regent, regulate, rule
Noun
Middle English raile "rail (the bird)," from early French raalie (same meaning)
Verb
Middle English railen "to scold, be abusive to," from early French railler "to mock," probably derived from Latin ragere "to neigh"
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