rail: Meaning and Definition of

rail

Pronunciation: (rāl), [key]
— n.
  1. a bar of wood or metal fixed horizontally for any of various purposes, as for a support, barrier, fence, or railing.
  2. a fence; railing.
  3. one of two fences marking the inside and outside boundaries of a racetrack.
  4. one of a pair of steel bars that provide the running surfaces for the wheels of locomotives and railroad cars. See illus. under
  5. the railroad as a means of transportation: to travel by rail.
  6. stocks or bonds of railroad companies.
  7. a horizontal member capping a bulwark.
  8. any of various horizontal members framing panels or the like, as in a system of paneling, paneled door, window sash, or chest of drawers. Cf..
  9. a line of cocaine crystals or powder for inhaling through the nose.
—v.t.
  1. to furnish or enclose with a rail or rails.

rail

Pronunciation: (rāl), [key]
— v.i.
  1. to utter bitter complaint or vehement denunciation (often fol. by at or against): to rail at fate.
—v.t.
  1. to bring, force, etc., by railing.

rail

Pronunciation: (rāl), [key]
— n.
  1. any of numerous birds of the family Rallidae, that have short wings, a narrow body, long toes, and a harsh cry and inhabit grasslands, forests, and marshes in most parts of the world.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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