rails 1 of 2

plural of rail
1
as in railings
a protective barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and its supports the stairs are icy, so hold onto the rail

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in roads
a roadway overlaid with parallel steel rails over which trains travel an abandoned stretch of rail that was overgrown with brush

Synonyms & Similar Words

rails

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of rail

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rails
Noun
Within days, Visa added Polygon, alongside Base, Arc, Canton and Tempo, to its stablecoin settlement program, the rails card issuers use to move money outside banking hours. Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026 But a town in Murray County has one that's gone off its rails. John Lauritsen, CBS News, 18 June 2026 The scanning process starts with stepping onto a platform that drops down into the water on rails through a ring of thousands of transducers that create ultrasonic waves. Richard Lawler, The Verge, 18 June 2026 But that didn’t prevent enormous gatherings outside of the Midtown guard rails — and in practically every other neighborhood beyond there, too. Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 14 June 2026 Pool rails, hot tub steps, and lounge chairs are constantly touched by wet hands and bare feet throughout the day, especially on sea days when the pool deck becomes the ship’s social hub. Kristy Tolley, Travel + Leisure, 13 June 2026 The four rails serve as the basis of a flexible multi-position lounge space, securing in a two-seat bench that can slide all the way back close to the dual tailgate doors or farther forward, closer to the central wet bathroom and kitchen block. New Atlas, 12 June 2026 While crime on public transit is rare, a recent Charlotte Observer investigation finding violent incidents were more likely to occur on buses rather than light rails, and detailed attacks on bus drivers. Dj Simmons, Charlotte Observer, 12 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rails
Noun
  • The Huntington is back and truly better than ever with plenty of the early-day residential touches intact, including the lovely wrought iron railings on the staircases and mail slots in the hallways.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 June 2026
  • People stood shoulder to shoulder and even lined the railings of a nearby parking garage overlooking the square.
    Jason Green, Mercury News, 19 June 2026
Noun
  • The suspect continued driving through the windy roads near Castaic Lake as officers trailed behind.
    Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 19 June 2026
  • Rainwater tends to stockpile on the edges of roads.
    CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 19 June 2026
Verb
  • And his ultimate war is with Bob, a tech CEO who rants about his haters and has gotten rich off rebranded snake oil and whose obvious corruption has been obscured by his self-mythologizing.
    Alison Willmore, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
  • One grumbles when the driver rants about development’s ravages.
    Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 10 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The program, called the American Supply Chain Sovereignty Initiative, would connect ports, ocean carriers, trucking companies, railroads and major retailers through a centralized freight visibility platform to help move goods faster and more efficiently.
    Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 17 June 2026
  • The original Dow index from 1884 had 11 stocks in it, and nine of them were railroads (the other two were a steamship company and Western Union).
    Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 15 June 2026
Verb
  • At a time when a majority of the country disapproves of—or actively reviles—the president, his name alone could end up limiting the program’s success.
    Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026
Noun
  • The region also has plans for a number of large infrastructure projects including more railways and flights, Chen said.
    ABC News, ABC News, 10 June 2026
  • Squamish Once shaped by logging, railways, and port activity, Squamish has evolved into an outdoor hub for climbers and mountain bikers.
    Vivian Chung, Travel + Leisure, 7 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Rails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rails. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.

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