Illustration of rail
1
a
: a bar extending from one post or support to another and serving as a guard or barrier
b
: a structural member or support
2
a
b
: a light structure serving as a guard at the outer edge of a ship's deck
c
: a fence bounding a racetrack
plural rail or rails
: any of numerous wading birds (family Rallidae, the rail family) that are of small or medium size and have short rounded wings, a short tail, and usually very long toes which enable them to run on the soft mud of marshes
railed; railing; rails
: to revile or scold in harsh, insolent, or abusive language
railer
noun
Examples of rail in a Sentence
Noun (1)
the stairs are icy, so hold onto the rail
an abandoned stretch of rail that was overgrown with brush
Verb (2)
we could hear the cook in the kitchen railing against his assistant and wondered if we'd ever get our food
Recent Examples on the Web
Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 29 Dec. 2025
Homes, schools, highways, rail corridors, ports and power facilities depend on the integrity of these structures.
—Farshid Vahedifard, The Conversation, 29 Dec. 2025
Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 30 Dec. 2025
And doesn’t this perpetuate the stigma of therapy and promote the idea that perfection is attainable to kids—two other things my generation (millennials) and the one after me (Gen Z) have long railed against?
—Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rail
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Noun
The project also aimed to modernize the rail link across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico's narrowest land bridge.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 29 Dec. 2025
Homes, schools, highways, rail corridors, ports and power facilities depend on the integrity of these structures.
—Farshid Vahedifard, The Conversation, 29 Dec. 2025
Verb
The president has long railed against Minnesota’s Somali diaspora, the vast majority of whom are US citizens.
—Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 30 Dec. 2025
And doesn’t this perpetuate the stigma of therapy and promote the idea that perfection is attainable to kids—two other things my generation (millennials) and the one after me (Gen Z) have long railed against?
—Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rail
Cite this Entry
“Rail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rail. Accessed 1 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rail
1 of 4 noun1
a
: a bar extending from one support to another and serving as a guard or barrier
b
2
a
: a bar of steel forming a track for wheeled vehicles
b
: railroad
rail
2 of 4 verb
: to provide with a railing
rail
3 of 4 noun
plural rails or rail
: any of various small wading birds related to the cranes
rail
4 of 4 verb
: to scold or complain in harsh or bitter language
railer
noun
Etymology
Noun
Middle English raile "bar, rail," from early French raille, reille "bar, ruler," from Latin regula "straightedge, ruler," from regere "to lead straight, govern, rule" — related to regent, regulate, rule
Noun
Middle English raile "rail (the bird)," from early French raalie (same meaning)
Verb
Middle English railen "to scold, be abusive to," from early French railler "to mock," probably derived from Latin ragere "to neigh"
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