guardrail

noun

guard·​rail ˈgärd-ˌrāl 

: a railing guarding usually against danger

especially : a barrier placed along the edge of a highway at dangerous points

Synonyms of guardrail

• railing
• rail

Examples of guardrail in a Sentence

the car ran off the road, but fortunately only hit the guardrail

Recent Examples on the Web

Districts would still choose their own curricula, but within guardrails that guarantee a solid foundation for every student. —Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026

School Committee members extensively questioned the policy Wednesday, digging into how the success of the new guardrails would be monitored, how equity would be ensured across groups like multilingual learners and students with less technological resources and more. —Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 7 May 2026

However, some states did fail to put guardrails in place. —Bill Owens, Denver Post, 7 May 2026

Meanwhile, the institutional guardrails have been weakened. —Israel Melendez Ayala, Time, 6 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for guardrail

• airmail
• assail
• avail
• bewail
• blackmail
• cattail
• cocktail
• curtail
• derail
• detail
• dovetail
• email

Kids Definition

guardrail

noun

guard·​rail ˈgär-ˌdrāl 

: a protective railing placed along dangerous areas (as of a road)