derailed; derailing; derails
1
: to cause to run off the rails
2
a
: to obstruct the progress of : frustrate
Security problems derailed the tour.
b
: to upset the stability or composure of
… divorce … can seriously derail an employee.—
Joanne Gordon
Joanne Gordon
: to leave the rails
Synonyms of derail
Examples of derail in a Sentence
The train derailed in heavy snow.
The train was derailed by heavy snow.
Recent Examples on the Web
Tariffs, which threatened to derail markets in the spring, eased into an afterthought over the latter half of the year.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 31 Dec. 2025
Tre Mann registered a Coach’s-DNP for the first time this season, Mann hasn’t found the same form that had him as an early leading candidate for sixth man of the year in 2024-25 before a back injury in November derailed him for the bulk of the season.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 31 Dec. 2025
Incentives derailed Since the railroad companies moved out in the 1990s, Sacramento has awaited development in the largely vacant district adjacent to downtown that once served as a bustling railyard.
—Sacbee.com, 30 Dec. 2025
On Thanksgiving Day in 2023, 16 cars of a CSX train derailed in Rockcastle County, spilling molten sulfur and causing a fire that burned throughout the day, The Courier Journal previously reported.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for derail
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Max Zahn, ABC News, 31 Dec. 2025
Tre Mann registered a Coach’s-DNP for the first time this season, Mann hasn’t found the same form that had him as an early leading candidate for sixth man of the year in 2024-25 before a back injury in November derailed him for the bulk of the season.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 31 Dec. 2025
Incentives derailed Since the railroad companies moved out in the 1990s, Sacramento has awaited development in the largely vacant district adjacent to downtown that once served as a bustling railyard.
—Sacbee.com, 30 Dec. 2025
On Thanksgiving Day in 2023, 16 cars of a CSX train derailed in Rockcastle County, spilling molten sulfur and causing a fire that burned throughout the day, The Courier Journal previously reported.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for derail
Cite this Entry
“Derail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/derail. Accessed 3 Jan. 2026.
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