rails 1 of 2

Definition of railsnext
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
And these payment systems ride rails already clearing at huge scale. Bhaskar Chakravorti, Fortune, 7 June 2026 So, the team factored in things like uneven rails, warped tables, inconsistent rebounds, power supply dips, and camera latency. Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 7 June 2026 Long screws pass through these rails, holding the cabinet to the wall. Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 6 June 2026 This is where this game finally goes off the Weird and Wild rails. Jayson Stark, New York Times, 5 June 2026 The meeting went off the rails when Pelley, a 50-year veteran journalist, began peppering Bilton with questions and accused Weiss of destroying the show’s sterling reputation. Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 3 June 2026 What holds it all together (through eight of the 10 episodes, at least, which is all that were provided for review and exactly when the narrative threatens to go off the rails) is Javier Bardem. Ben Travers, IndieWire, 3 June 2026 Starring RuPaul's Drag Race favorites Ginger Minj, Jujubee, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Symone and more, the hilarious comedy follows two stewardesses racing to save a high-speed train when a catastrophic storm threatens to send it off the rails. Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026 The locomotive gets going again on the rails on Thursday. Noel Brennan, CBS News, 3 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rails
Noun
  • The creations Brown makes are permanent, intended to be part of outdoor architecture of the property, such as hand railings atop a natural fence of wood, gazebos and pergolas and gates.
    Emily M. Olson, Hartford Courant, 6 June 2026
  • Accessibility There is an accessible Windward and Leeward Pavilion, both of which have wide doors, fully accessible bathrooms, hand railings, and lowered sinks to allow for wheelchair access.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Noun
  • The park’s 14 trails range from old mining roads to the perimeter of Kathleen Lake to Thechàl Dhâl, also known as Sheep Mountain, with northern wildlife and Southern Tutchone cultural heritage along the way.
    Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2026
  • The new tax on Dubai tolls and parking, which began on June 1, will give the UAE government another cut from its roads that’s divorced from the financial performance of the operators.
    Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 4 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 federal government hasn’t owned any freight railroads since the 1920s, with the exception of the Alaska Railroad, now owned by that state.
    Jordan Blum, Fortune, 29 May 2026
  • Chain gangs to build railroads were also established during this time.
    Julia Bowling, The Conversation, 29 May 2026
Noun
  • Experts say these hybrid tactics include cyber attacks, border incursions and sabotaging everything from undersea cables to civilian railways.
    Alexander Smith, NBC news, 29 May 2026
  • Minnesota’s Wildflower Project has spent the last decade planting pollinator gardens along medians and railways.
    Maggie Slepian, Longreads, 14 May 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

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Cite this Entry

“Rails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rails. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.

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