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
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 7 Apr. 2025
As Banda escaped, Sasaki raised his wiry frame atop the rail and roared.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2025
Democrats in both chambers of Congress railed against executive actions from the Trump administration that target social programs such as Social Security and Medicaid.
—The Hill Staff, The Hill, 1 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rail
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.
Noun
But as the season progressed, the [shudders] discourse really went off the rails.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 7 Apr. 2025
As Banda escaped, Sasaki raised his wiry frame atop the rail and roared.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
Verb
The goal: to rail against plans to cut Medicaid, tax cuts for the wealthy, environmental rollbacks and other policies pushed by President Donald Trump and his GOP allies.
—Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2025
Democrats in both chambers of Congress railed against executive actions from the Trump administration that target social programs such as Social Security and Medicaid.
—The Hill Staff, The Hill, 1 Apr. 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 13 Apr. 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"
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share