third rail
nounDefinition of third rail
Examples of third rail in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That's President Trump announcing that Britain's National Health Service would be a part of future trade negotiations between the countries, an idea that had previously been considered a political third rail by both Brits and Americans. — Graeme Mcmillan, WIRED, "While You Were Offline: Trump Had a Very Long Week in the UK," 9 June 2019 Some died of hypothermia, burned to death while huddling near a hot plate for warmth, or were electrocuted by the third rail. — William Mcgurn, WSJ, "The Idea That Made America’s Cities Safer," 29 Dec. 2018 King also highlighted counterproductive behavioral patterns in the black community—the third rail for today’s racial activists. — Coleman Hughes, WSJ, "Martin Luther King, Colorblind Radical," 17 Jan. 2019 Gone are the days when divisiveness was a third rail. — Jason Gay, WSJ, "Colin Kaepernick and Nike, Starring You and Me," 5 Sep. 2018 One of the nation's most combustible issues, race is a third rail for major corporations, which must appeal to a diverse array of customers. — Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, "ABC's move to ax 'Roseanne' reflects businesses are often at front lines of culture wars," 30 May 2018 Arcing on a track happens when stray electrical current from the rail’s third rail finds another path to the ground, usually because of puddled water, mud or dirt. — Dana Hedgpeth, Washington Post, "Metro had ‘multiple’ arcing insulators on its Red Line this morning," 12 Jan. 2018 But natural gas is a third rail of Massachusetts politics, and House leaders steered clear. — Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, "Mass. lawmakers wrap up work on energy legislation," 13 July 2018 Throughout it all, the deer escaped injury, avoiding contact with the electrified third rail or a train before fleeing out the tunnel. — Fox News, "Frankly deer, the Metro station is no place for gallivanting," 12 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'third rail.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
The History of 'Third Rail'
The History of 'Third Rail'
From the subway to politics
Dictionary Entries near third rail
Statistics for third rail
Last Updated
15 Jun 2019
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for third rail
The first known use of third rail was in 1867
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