Rail
[reɪl] or [rel]
Definition
(noun.) any of numerous widely distributed small wading birds of the family Rallidae having short wings and very long toes for running on soft mud.
(noun.) a horizontal bar (usually of wood or metal).
(noun.) short for railway; 'he traveled by rail'; 'he was concerned with rail safety'.
(verb.) complain bitterly.
(verb.) fish with a handline over the rails of a boat; 'They are railing for fresh fish'.
(verb.) lay with rails; 'hundreds of miles were railed out here'.
(verb.) convey (goods etc.) by rails; 'fresh fruit are railed from Italy to Belgium'.
(verb.) separate with a railing; 'rail off the crowds from the Presidential palace'.
(verb.) provide with rails; 'The yard was railed'.
(verb.) enclose with rails; 'rail in the old graves'.
Checked by Jessie--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) An outer cloak or covering; a neckerchief for women.
(v. i.) To flow forth; to roll out; to course.
(n.) A bar of timber or metal, usually horizontal or nearly so, extending from one post or support to another, as in fences, balustrades, staircases, etc.
(n.) A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling. See Illust. of Style.
(n.) A bar of steel or iron, forming part of the track on which the wheels roll. It is usually shaped with reference to vertical strength, and is held in place by chairs, splices, etc.
(n.) The stout, narrow plank that forms the top of the bulwarks.
(n.) The light, fencelike structures of wood or metal at the break of the deck, and elsewhere where such protection is needed.
(v. t.) To inclose with rails or a railing.
(v. t.) To range in a line.
(v.) Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds of the family Rallidae, especially those of the genus Rallus, and of closely allied genera. They are prized as game birds.
(v. i.) To use insolent and reproachful language; to utter reproaches; to scoff; -- followed by at or against, formerly by on.
(v. t.) To rail at.
(v. t.) To move or influence by railing.
Inputed by Huntington
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Censure, scold, bluster, scoff, chide, objurgate,[See CENSURE]
Edited by Darrell
Definition
v.i. to brawl: to use insolent language.—v.t. to scoff at affect by railing.—n. Rail′er one who rails: one who insults or defames by opprobrious language.—adj. Rail′ing reproachful insulting.—n. reproachful and insulting language.—adv. Rail′ingly in a railing manner: scoffingly: insultingly.—n. Raillery (rāl′ėr-i or ral′-) railing or mockery: banter: good-humoured irony.
v.i. (Spens.) to flow or pour down.
n. a robe—now only in Night-rail.
n. a genus of wading-birds with a harsh cry.—n. Rail′-bird the Carolina rail.—Golden rail a rail snipe.
n. a bar of timber or metal extending from one support to another as in fences staircases &c.: one of those steel bars used on the permanent way of a railway generally of that form known as the T-rail: a barrier: the railway as a means of travel or transport: (archit.) the horizontal part of a frame and panel: (naut.) the forecastle-rail poop-rail and top-rail are bars across the forecastle &c.—v.t. to enclose with rails: to furnish with rails.—ns. Rail′-bend′er a screw-press for straightening rails; Rail′-bor′er a hand-drill for rails; Rail′-chair an iron block by which the rails are secured to the sleepers; Rail′-clamp a wedge for clamping a rail firmly; Rail′-coup′ling a bar by which the opposite rails of a railway are connected at curves switches &c.; Rail′-guard a guard-rail before a front wheel; Rail′ing a fence of posts and rails: material for rails; Rail′-punch a machine for punching holes in the webs of rails; Rail′road Rail′way a road or way laid with iron rails on which carriages run.—v.t. Rail′road (U.S.) to push forward fast.—ns. Rail′roader one employed about a railway; Rail′road-worm the apple maggot; Rail′-saw a portable machine for sawing off metal rails; Rail′-split′ter (U.S.) one who splits logs into rails for a fence; Rail′way-car a vehicle for the transportation of passengers and goods; Rail′way-carr′iage a carriage for the conveyance of passengers; Rail′way-cross′ing an intersection of railway-lines: an intersection of an ordinary road with a railroad; Rail′way-slide a turn-table; Rail′way-stitch a loose and rapid stitch in knitting or crochet-work; Rail′way-train (see Train).—Railway company a stock company formed for the construction and working of a railway usually organised by a legislative enactment.—Elevated railway an elevated bridge-like structure used for railway purposes to avoid obstruction of surface roadways; Military railway a railway equipped for military service the locomotives being armoured and the carriages armour-plated and provided with portholes for rifles; Portable railway a light railway made in detachable sections and so suited for carrying easily from place to place.
Editor: Ricky
Examples
- I left Cairo within an hour or two after the receipt of this dispatch, going by rail via Indianapolis. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Rested and refreshed, we took the rail happy and contented. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The completed rail is then covered with a finishing strip, known as the blind rail, which covers the unsightly bolt heads and adds to the artistic effect of the table. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Confused, Mr. Huskisson tried to go around the open door of the carriage, which projected over the opposite rail. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- Again I climbed to the ship's rail. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- This model showed itself capable of traveling at high speed on a single rail, rounding sharp curves and even traversing with ease a wire cable hung in the air. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- From the rail before the dock, away into the sharpest angle of the smallest corner in the galleries, all looks were fixed upon one man--Fagin. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Stephenson laid down new rails at Killingworth with half-lap joints, or extending over each other for a certain distance at the ends, instead of the butt joints that were formerly used. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- All the bridges over these had been destroyed, and the rails taken up and twisted by the enemy. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- If extended in straight lines, it would build a track of two rails to the moon, and more than a hundred thousand miles beyond it. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- In 1804, at Pen y Darran, South Wales, a third engine was built, which was the first steam locomotive ever to run on rails. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The convertible rails, however, because of their rigidity, are more desirable than the convertible cushions. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- He realized that the road and the rails were almost as important as the engine itself. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- The rails were insulated from the ties by giving them two coats of japan, baking them in the oven, and then placing them on pads of tar-impregnated muslin laid on the ties. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- He railed at us for our pains, terming us des ménagères avares; but we let him talk, and managed the economy of the repast our own way. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- He railed over it. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- On hearing that I had been once more discovered I started so that the railing against which I leaned cracked again. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- He was always railing against the rich people, for whom he did work, for their poor taste. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- One's safest course that day was to clasp a railing and hang on; walking was too precarious a pastime. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Upon the top of the bank was a low brick wall, surmounted by an iron railing. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- The lawyer turns, leans his arms on the iron railing at the top of the steps, and looks at the lamplighter lighting the court-yard. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- The house was separated from the street by a low wall and railing, the whole not more than five feet high. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- The sweet-scented leaves of the flower on my left hand just brushed my cheek as I lightly rested my head against the railing. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
Checked by Harlan