# rail

Pronunciation: say "RAYL" /ɹeɪl/

## Noun

1. The railroad system considered as a means of transportation for people or freight.
   - Simple: The train system seen as a way of traveling from place to place.
   - _More travelers are choosing rail to cut their carbon footprint._
   - _Freight moves cheaply by rail between the two ports._
2. A horizontal bar fixed between supports, used to hold onto or to act as a barrier.
   - Simple: A bar fixed across or between posts that you can hold onto or that keeps people back.
   - _He leaned against the rail to watch the boats in the harbor._
   - _The balcony rails were freshly painted before the guests arrived._
3. A metal bar that forms part of the track on which trains run.
   - Simple: One of the long metal bars that train wheels roll along.
   - _Inspectors walk the track each morning to check every rail for cracks._
   - _A loose rail caused the train to slow to a crawl._
5. In an electrical circuit, a conductor held at a constant voltage with respect to ground, serving as a common connection for other components.
   - Simple: A wire or strip kept at a steady voltage that other parts of a circuit connect to.
   - _Each amplifier stage connects between the supply rail and ground._
   - _Noise on the power rail can disrupt sensitive measurements._
6. Either of the two vertical side bars of a ladder into which the rungs are fixed.
   - Simple: One of the two long side bars of a ladder that hold the steps.
   - _He wiped the paint off the left rail before folding the ladder away._
   - _The ladder's rails were made of lightweight aluminum._
8. Any of several marsh-dwelling birds of the family Rallidae, typically with short rounded wings and long toes for walking on soft ground.
   - Simple: A shy marsh bird with long toes that hides in tall grass near water.
   - _The birdwatcher finally glimpsed a rail slipping through the dense marsh grass._
   - _Several rails nested in the wetland that spring._
9. A horizontal piece of wood that divides the sections of a door or window frame.
   - Simple: A flat piece of wood that runs across a door or window to divide it into parts.
   - _The carpenter joined each rail to the vertical stiles with mortise and tenon joints._
   - _Decorative molding ran along the top rail of the paneled door._
10. A sizable line of a powdered drug arranged for snorting. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A long line of powdered drugs set out to be sniffed up the nose.
   - _She bent down and snorted a fat rail off the counter._
   - _Police found a rail of white powder still laid out on the glass table._
14. The raised border running around the edge of a game board, especially in backgammon.
   - Simple: The raised edge around a game board that stops pieces from falling off.
   - _Her die bounced off the rail and rolled to a stop near the middle of the board._
   - _The dice bounced off the rail of the backgammon board and rolled onto the floor._

## Verb

4. To complain bitterly and forcefully about something or against someone.
   - Simple: To complain loudly and angrily about something over and over.
   - _Critics rail against the policy in every newspaper column._
   - _She railed at the council for ignoring local concerns._
7. To enclose or fence in an area with rails or a railing.
   - Simple: To put a fence of bars around something.
   - _After two hikers slipped, the town railed off the steep edge of the overlook._
   - _The builders had to rail in each balcony with steel bars before anyone moved in._
11. To inhale a line of a powdered drug through the nose. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To sniff a line of powdered drugs up the nose.
   - _They rail ketamine off the back of a phone._
   - _She railed the last line and passed the straw along._
12. To set a railway vehicle onto the track.
   - Simple: To put a train car onto its track.
13. To penetrate someone sexually in a rough, vigorous manner. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To have sex with someone in a hard, rough way.
   - _They rail each other hard whenever they fight and make up._
   - _The whole song was him bragging that he railed her senseless._

## Noun

15. A garment, such as a cloak or dress. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A piece of clothing, such as a cloak or dress.
16. A woman's headscarf or neckerchief. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A woman's headscarf or neck cloth.

## Verb

17. To flow forth or gush out. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To flow or pour out quickly.
18. Of the wind, to blow. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To blow, as the wind does.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To travel from place to place by railroad.
- (noun) Either of the lengthwise edges of a surfboard, running from nose to tail.
- (noun) A vertical band running along one side of a web page.
- (verb) To arrange or set out in a line.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 5–7, 9–14** — Latin "regō" (to rule, guide, govern) gave "regula" (rule, bar), and this reached English by two paths: Old English "regol," meaning a ruler or straight bar, and Old French "reille." Together they produced Middle English rail. Regal, rule, and several other words are doublets.
**Meaning 8** — The bird is named for its harsh cry. The name traces from Latin "rādere" (to scrape) through Vulgar Latin "*rasculum" to Old French "rasle," Middle French "raalle," and finally French "râle."
**Meaning 4** — From Middle French "railler".
**Meanings 15–16** — Old English "hræġl" meant a garment, dress, or robe, and it became Middle English rail. Its cognates include Old Frisian "hreil" and Old High German "hregil" (clothing, garment).
**Meanings 17–18** — Probably from Anglo-Norman "raier", also Middle French "raier".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/rail (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).