Library / English Dictionary

RAIL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of numerous widely distributed small wading birds of the family Rallidae having short wings and very long toes for running on soft mud

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("rail" is a kind of...):

wader; wading bird (any of many long-legged birds that wade in water in search of food)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rail"):

maori hen; weka; wood hen (flightless New Zealand rail of thievish disposition having short wings each with a spur used in fighting)

crake (any of several short-billed Old World rails)

notornis; Notornis mantelli; takahe (flightless New Zealand birds similar to gallinules)

coot (slate-black slow-flying birds somewhat resembling ducks)

Holonyms ("rail" is a member of...):

family Rallidae; Rallidae (rails; crakes; gallinules; coots)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A horizontal bar (usually of wood or metal)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("rail" is a kind of...):

bar (a rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rail"):

fence rail; split rail (a rail that is split from a log)

plate rail (rail or narrow shelf fixed to a wall to display plates)

picture rail (rail fixed to a wall for hanging pictures)

ledger board (top rail of a fence or balustrade)

hitching bar; hitchrack (a fixed horizontal rail to which a horse can be hitched to prevent it from straying)

Derivation:

rail (provide with rails)

rail (enclose with rails)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Short for railway

Example:

he was concerned with rail safety

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("rail" is a kind of...):

railroad; railroad line; railway; railway line; railway system (line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight)

Derivation:

rail (travel by rail or train)

rail (convey (goods etc.) by rails)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports

Synonyms:

rail; railing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("rail" is a kind of...):

barrier (a structure or object that impedes free movement)

Meronyms (parts of "rail"):

ledger board (top rail of a fence or balustrade)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rail"):

bar ((law) a railing that encloses the part of the courtroom where the judges and lawyers sit and the case is tried)

fife rail (the railing surrounding the mast of a sailing vessel)

guardrail; safety rail (a railing placed alongside a stairway or road for safety)

taffrail (the railing around the stern of a ship)

Holonyms ("rail" is a part of...):

balusters; balustrade; banister; bannister; handrail (a railing at the side of a staircase or balcony to prevent people from falling)

Derivation:

rail (separate with a railing)

rail (provide with rails)

rail (enclose with rails)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A bar or pair of parallel bars of rolled steel making the railway along which railroad cars or other vehicles can roll

Synonyms:

rail; rails; runway; track

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("rail" is a kind of...):

bar (a rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rail"):

third rail (a rail through which electric current is supplied to an electric locomotive)

Holonyms ("rail" is a part of...):

railroad; railroad track; railway (a line of track providing a runway for wheels)

streetcar track; tramline; tramway (the track on which trams or streetcars run)

Derivation:

rail (lay with rails)

rail (travel by rail or train)

rail (convey (goods etc.) by rails)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Criticize severely

Example:

She railed against the bad social policies

Synonyms:

fulminate; rail

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "rail" is one way to...):

denounce (speak out against)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Spread negative information about

Example:

The Nazi propaganda vilified the Jews

Synonyms:

rail; revile; vilify; vituperate

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "rail" is one way to...):

abuse; blackguard; clapperclaw; shout (use foul or abusive language towards)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

Complain bitterly

Synonyms:

inveigh; rail

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "rail" is one way to...):

complain; kick; kvetch; plain; quetch; sound off (express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Sense 4

Meaning:

Fish with a handline over the rails of a boat

Example:

They are railing for fresh fish

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "rail" is one way to...):

fish (catch or try to catch fish or shellfish)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 5

Meaning:

Lay with rails

Example:

hundreds of miles were railed out here

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "rail" is one way to...):

lay; put down; repose (put in a horizontal position)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

rail (a bar or pair of parallel bars of rolled steel making the railway along which railroad cars or other vehicles can roll)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Travel by rail or train

Example:

She trained to Hamburg

Synonyms:

rail; train

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "rail" is one way to...):

ride (be carried or travel on or in a vehicle)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

rail (a bar or pair of parallel bars of rolled steel making the railway along which railroad cars or other vehicles can roll)

rail (short for railway)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Convey (goods etc.) by rails

Example:

fresh fruit are railed from Italy to Belgium

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "rail" is one way to...):

transport (move something or somebody around; usually over long distances)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

rail (short for railway)

rail (a bar or pair of parallel bars of rolled steel making the railway along which railroad cars or other vehicles can roll)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Separate with a railing

Example:

rail off the crowds from the Presidential palace

Synonyms:

rail; rail off

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "rail" is one way to...):

divide; separate (make a division or separation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

rail; railing (a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Provide with rails

Example:

The yard was railed

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "rail" is one way to...):

furnish; provide; render; supply (give something useful or necessary to)

Domain category:

architecture (the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their esthetic effect)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

rail (a horizontal bar (usually of wood or metal))

rail; railing (a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports)

Sense 10

Meaning:

Enclose with rails

Example:

rail in the old graves

Synonyms:

rail; rail in

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "rail" is one way to...):

confine; enclose; hold in (close in)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

rail (a horizontal bar (usually of wood or metal))

rail; railing (a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He leaped a ditch, went through a rail fence, and fled across a field.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

The smart bus is much cheaper than building a rail track.

(Driverless Bus-train Hybrid Runs on Virtual Painted Tracks, VOA)

Thornton was sent spinning, and saved himself from falling only by clutching the rail of the bar.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

The square, when they got there, was full of wind and dust, and the thin trees in the garden were lashing themselves along the railing.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

But you may imagine what I felt when, just as I came to the altar rails, I glanced back and saw Frank standing and looking at me out of the first pew.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He turned away from the rail with a groan, muttering, "Man, you are too sick, you are too sick."

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

When I called on Wednesday there was a letter with the West Kensington postmark upon it, and my name scrawled across the envelope in a handwriting which looked like a barbed-wire railing.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

My working place was established in a corner of the warehouse, where Mr. Quinion could see me, when he chose to stand up on the bottom rail of his stool in the counting-house, and look at me through a window above the desk.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

During the bustle Jo had scarcely spoken but flown about, looking pale and wild, with her things half off, her dress torn, and her hands cut and bruised by ice and rails and refractory buckles.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

They had often attempted to do it before, but it was a subject on which Mrs. Bennet was beyond the reach of reason, and she continued to rail bitterly against the cruelty of settling an estate away from a family of five daughters, in favour of a man whom nobody cared anything about.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)