Thesaurus results for RAILS

rails 1 of 2

noun

plural of rail

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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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

as in rants

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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

Contributing factors to that could be a low number of axles, like with a solo locomotive, contaminants on the rails, or rust and other conditions that cause poor wheel-to-rail connections, according to the bulletin. — Marni Pyke, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026 The continuous rails bend so imperceptibly that passengers feel nothing more than a smooth, butter-like glide across the water. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026 The rails underneath Solowin's Bahrain subsidiary was licensed by that country's central bank in June to issue stablecoins, the first granted under that framework. — Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026 The deal also included no guard rails for how the $10 million should be spent, allowing it to be handed directly to two organizations without any effort to seek competitive bids. — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026 The World Economic Forum describes a systems phase in which settlement, custody and payments shift from batch processes to always-on rails. — Nia Bowers, IndyStar, 27 Aug. 2026 Meanwhile, the side rails of the ship bend like ring ropes when Batman’s thrown into them. — Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026 And while crime on public transit is rare in general, a February Charlotte Observer investigation found violent incidents were more likely to occur on buses rather than light rails, and that bus drivers were especially vulnerable. — Charlotte Observer, 22 Aug. 2026 There are also satellite populations, like one in the Baltimore, Maryland, area, that are isolated and brought in through shipping containers, freight rails or air travel, Heinsohn said. — Julia Gomez, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rails

Noun

This set of minimalistic dusk-to-dawn deck lights is one of the simplest options to add lights around your railings, and more than 11,000 reviewers give them five stars.

— Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 29 Aug. 2026
Now is the time to nail down loose boards, clean debris out of gaps and tighten loose railings.

— Alora Bopray, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of railings

Noun

Nepal’s Department of Roads says at least 19 motorable bridges and around 40 kilometers of roads have also been damaged or washed away.

— Milad Haghani, Scientific American, 27 Aug. 2026
Rescue efforts, still in their first stages, have been hampered by the fact that the floodwaters have washed away entire roads.

— Diaa Hadid, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of roads

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

Definition of rants

Noun

The initiative, according to details shared first with Semafor, will allow state-level transportation agencies and railroads to lease out land alongside roads and tracks to private sector companies to develop new infrastructure.

— Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026
The story of Colorado’s railroads doesn’t end in the Royal Gorge.

— Jocelyn Rowley, Denver Post, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of railroads

Noun

Finch argues that because kudzu is most aggressive along roads, railways, and forest edges, the vine has become hyper-visible in the age of the automobile.

— The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 26 Aug. 2026
Those facilities provide drydocks, shiplifts, railways and pier-side support for Navy and government vessels.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2026