Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A bar extending horizontally between supports, as in a fence.
- noun A structure made of such bars and supports and forming a barrier or guard; a railing.
- noun A steel bar used, usually in pairs, as a track for railroad cars or other wheeled vehicles.
- noun Sports A grind rail.
- noun The railroad as a means of transportation.
- noun A horizontal framing member in a door or in paneling.
- transitive verb To supply or enclose with rails or a rail.
- noun Any of various marsh birds of the family Rallidae, found worldwide and characteristically having brownish plumage and short wings.
- intransitive verb To express objections or criticisms in bitter, harsh, or abusive language. synonym: scold.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To range in a line; set in order.
- To dress; clothe.
- noun A garment; dress; robe: now only in the compound night-rail.
- noun A kerchief.
- To inclose with rails: often with in or off.
- To furnish with rails; lay the rails of, as a railway; construct a railway upon or along, as a street.
- To fish with a hand-line over the rail of a ship or boat.
- noun A bird of the subfamily Rallinæ, and especially of the genus Rallus; a water-rail, land-rail, marsh-hen, or crake.
- To run; flow.
- To speak bitterly, opprobriously, or reproachfully; use acrimonious expressions; scoff; inveigh.
- Synonyms of rail at. To upbraid, scold or scold at or scold about, inveigh against, abuse, objurgate. Railing and scolding are always undignified, if not improper; literally, abusing is improper; all three words may by hyperbole be used for talk which is proper.
- To scoff at; taunt; scold; banter; affect by railing or raillery.
- noun A bar of wood or other material passing from one post or other support to another.
- noun A structure consisting of rails and their sustaining posts, balusters, or pillars, and constituting an inclosure or line of division: often used in the plural, and also called a railing.
- noun In joinery, a horizontal timber in a piece of framing or paneling.
- noun Nautical, one of several bars or timbers in a ship, serving for inclosure or support.
- noun One of the iron or (now generally) steel bars or beams used on the permanent way of a railway to support and guide the wheels of cars and motors.
- noun The railway or railroad as a means of transport: as, to travel or send goods by railroading
- noun In cotton-spinning, a bar having an up-and-down motion, by which yarn passing through is guided upon the bar and is distributed upon the bobbins.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An outer cloak or covering; a neckerchief for women.
- intransitive verb obsolete To flow forth; to roll out; to course.
- transitive verb To inclose with rails or a railing.
- transitive verb obsolete To range in a line.
- noun (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds of the family
Rallidæ , especially those of the genus Rallus, and of closely allied genera. They are prized as game birds. - noun (Zoöl.) the corncrake.
- intransitive verb To use insolent and reproachful language; to utter reproaches; to scoff; -- followed by at or against, formerly by on.
- transitive verb obsolete To rail at.
- transitive verb rare To move or influence by railing.
- noun A bar of timber or metal, usually horizontal or nearly so, extending from one post or support to another, as in fences, balustrades, staircases, etc.
- noun (Arch.) A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling. See
Illust. ofStyle . - noun (Railroad) A bar of steel or iron, forming part of the track on which the wheels roll. It is usually shaped with reference to vertical strength, and is held in place by chairs, splices, etc.
- noun The stout, narrow plank that forms the top of the bulwarks.
- noun The light, fencelike structures of wood or metal at the break of the deck, and elsewhere where such protection is needed.
- noun A railroad as a means of transportation.
- noun a railing.
- noun See under
Fence . - noun A guard rail. See under
Guard . - noun (Railroad) a splice connecting the adjacent ends of rails, in distinction from a
chair , which is merely a seat. The two devices are sometimes united. Among several hundred varieties, thefish joint is standard. See Fish joint, underFish . - noun (Iron & Steel Manuf.) a train of rolls in a rolling mill, for making rails for railroads from blooms or billets.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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In the nineteenth century, when people wanted to describe the new transportation technology that went chug-chug-chug, they called the engine an iron horse and the rail system track way (if they were Dutch) or rail way (if they were English) or iron way (if they were French, German, or Italian) or narrow iron lane (if they were Greek).
The Theory Behind the Dictionary: Cultural Literacy and Education 2002
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The “light” in light rail is short for “light-capacity rail transit,” as opposed to “heavy rail” or “heavy-capacity rail transit” (subways and elevateds).
Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » Light Rail Killing Another Transit System 2009
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The bottom of this scope forms a rail, and near the front of the rail is a series of grooves.
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MY: “And while intercity rail is going to be primarily used by fairly prosperous business travelers, better buses would make it a lot easier for economically struggle families.”
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And while intercity rail is going to be primarily used by fairly prosperous business travelers, better buses would make it a lot easier for economically struggle families.
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He also touches on a lot of things that Matt talks about a lot: building urban rail is not going to be useful unless you also change development, and discourage free parking.
Matthew Yglesias » Marginal Cost Pricing for Mass Transit 2010
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Democrats have learned that continually stepping on the third rail is unwise for their political futures.
Inauguration Day Discussion Topic: The Change You Need? 2009
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Because people from Ohio will go there on vacation and discover that high speed rail is a nice way to get around.
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Democrats have learned that continually stepping on the third rail is unwise for their political futures.
Inauguration Day Discussion Topic: The Change You Need? 2009
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Of course, China will still have lots and lots of international air travel, and also air travel over the very long distances through the interior, just as high-speed rail is never going to displace NY-LA flights here.
gangerh commented on the word rail
Also means
1. to flow forth
2. to roll out
3. to course.
April 21, 2008