Dictionary Definition
rail
Noun
1 a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and
supports [syn: railing]
2 short for railway; "he traveled by rail"; "he
was concerned with rail safety"
4 a horizontal bar (usually of wood)
5 any of numerous widely distributed small wading
birds of the family Rallidae having short wings and very long toes
for running on soft mud
Verb
1 complain bitterly [syn: inveigh]
2 enclose with rails; "rail in the old graves"
[syn: rail
in]
3 provide with rails; "The yard was railed"
4 separate with a railing; "rail off the crowds
from the Presidential palace" [syn: rail off]
5 convey (goods etc.) by rails; "fresh fruit are
railed from Italy to Belgium"
6 travel by rail or train; "They railed from Rome
to Venice"; "She trained to Hamburg" [syn: train]
7 lay with rails; "hundreds of miles were railed
out here"
8 fish with a hand-line over the rails of a boat;
"They are railing for fresh fish"
9 spread negative information about; "The Nazi
propaganda vilified the Jews" [syn: vilify, revile, vituperate]
10 criticize severely; "He fulminated against the
Republicans' plan to cut Medicare"; "She railed against the bad
social policies" [syn: fulminate]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Noun
- a horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing.
- the metal bar that makes the track for a railroad.
- a railroad; a railway
- a horizontal piece of wood that serves to separate sections of a door or window.
- lengthwise edges of a surfboard
- Rails alone can only ever have a marginal effect on a board's general turning ability — Nick Carroll at surfline.com http://www.surfline.com/community/whoknows/10_21_rails.cfm
Translations
a horizontal bar; a railing
- German: Geländer , Reling (naut.)
- Japanese: 手すり
- Norwegian: rekkverk, gelender
- Russian: a horizontal bar: перекладина (perekládina) , поперечина (poperéčina) ; a railing: перила (períla) p, поручни (póručni) p
- Swedish: räcke
the metal bar that makes the track for a
railroad
a railroad; a railway
a horizontal piece of wood that serves to
separate sections of a door or window
lengthwise edges of a surfboard
See also
Etymology 2
râle, rasle. Compare Medieval Latin rallus. Named from its harsh cry, Vulgar Latin rasculum, from Latin radere, to scrape.Noun
- a small bird resembling a crane
Translations
a small bird resembling a crane
- German: Ralle
- Japanese: クイナ
- Russian: пастушок
- Slovene: capovoznik
- Spanish: rascón
- Swedish: rall
See also
Etymology 3
Usage notes
Usually in the form "rail against". E.g. The main opposition parties railed against the government's new tax proposals.Translations
to complain
- German: hetzen
- Japanese: ののしる; qualifier slang ゴネる
- Swedish: skälla, smäda
Etymology 4
hrægl.Noun
- An item of clothing; a cloak or other garment.
- Specifically, a woman's headscarf or neckerchief.
Derived terms
Dutch
Pronunciation
- SAMPA: /'/
- /ʀaj/
rail f
French
Pronunciation
- SAMPA: /'/
- /ʀaj/
Etymology
From rail.Noun
fr-noun mExtensive Definition
Rail or rails may refer to:
- Guard rail, for safety or support
- Handrail, on a stairway
- Rallidae, the group of birds called rails
- Rail tracks
- The hot rolled steel profiles used on rail tracks or Tramway tracks
- A third rail is a method of providing electricity to power a railway by means of continuous rigid conductor mounted alongside the railway track
- A third rail can also refer to a rail configuration allowing dual gauge railway
- Rail transport
- RAIL (magazine), a railroad-related periodical
- Rural Appalachian Improvement League, a non-profit corporation based in Mullens, WV
- Rail (theater), rail in theatrical lighting
- Power supply rail, a voltage rail. A single voltage provided by a power supply unit
- Common rail, a fuel injection system
- Crayon Rails, the Mayfair Games board games
- Ruby on Rails, a web framework for the Ruby programming language
- A horizontal outside member on a door or in a frame and panel construction
- Picatinny rail, a bracket used on some firearms in order to provide a standardized mounting platform for telescopic sights and other accessories
- To insufflate a substance, such as cocaine, for recreational effects
rail in French: Rails
rail in Dutch: Rails
rail in Japanese: 線路
rail in Simple English: Rail
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
L, attack, baluster, balustrade, banister, bar, barrier, bawl out, berate, bottle up, boundary, box up, branch, bulkhead in, cable
railway, cage, censure, check, chew out, cloister, cog railway, condemn, confine, constrain, coop, coop in, coop up, cork up,
crib, criticize, decry, denounce, detain, el, electric railway, elevated, elevated railway,
embankment, encage, enclose, feeder, feeder line, fence, fence in, fulminate, gravity-operated
railway, gruel, handrail, hedge, hem, hem in, hold, hold in custody, hold in
restraint, horse railway, immure, impound, inhibit, jaw, junction, keep in, keep in
custody, keep in detention, lath, light railroad, line, main line, mere shadow,
metro, mew, mew up, monorail, pale, palisade, paper, pen, pen up, picket, pound, rack railway,
rack-and-pinion railway, rail in, rail line, railing, railroad, railway, rake, rate, restrain, restrict, revile, roadbed, roadway, rod, scold, seal up, shackle, shadow, shaving, shut in, shut up,
sidetrack, siding, skeleton, slat, slip, soup, splinter, stone wall, streak, street railway, streetcar
line, subway, switchback, terminal, terminus, tongue-lash, track, tram, tramline, trestle, trolley line, trunk, trunk line, tube, turnout, underground, upbraid, vein, vituperate, vociferate, wafer, wall, wall
in