noun

rail

rayl

noun

A horizontal bar used as a support or barrier, or one of the metal bars that trains run on.

"She gripped the rail as the ferry pitched in the swell."

"The train slowed as it passed over a section of damaged rail."

Train transport considered as a system or industry.

"More commuters are switching from cars to rail."

verb

To complain loudly and bitterly (usually "rail against" or "rail at").

"Critics railed against the new policy for weeks."

How to Use Rail

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA bar you hold onto or a track a train runs on — or, as a verb, to complain angrily and persistently about something.

Common mistake

"Rail against" means to complain forcefully, not to physically attack — don't confuse it with a literal assault.

Common pairings

rail against something travel by rail a handrail go off the rails

railed past tense, railed past tense, railed past tense, rails plural, rails plural, rails plural, rails singular, rails singular, rails singular

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She gripped the _____ as the ferry pitched in the swell.

From Old French reille and Old English regol, both going back to Latin regula, "a rule" or "straight bar" — the same root as "regular" and "rule."

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