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

Slap said guardrails and transparency would be critical. —Emilia Otte, Hartford Courant, 4 June 2026

Companies that maintain the ethics guardrails risk ceding ground to competitors that don’t. —Michael Gregory, The Conversation, 4 June 2026

And now ends the saga of the Chaney Trail guardrail. —Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026

Furthermore, a recent Financial Times investigation revealed that even when AI developers implement guardrails to prevent bad actors from misusing them, protections can be bypassed using openly available software tools in less than 10 minutes. —Mohammad Hosseini, Chicago Tribune, 4 June 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)