rail

CEFRB1

/ɹeɪ(ə)l/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A bar of metal or wood used as a support or track.

  2. 02

    verb

    To complain angrily or criticize strongly.

Examples

  • She leaned on the ship's rail and gazed out to sea.

  • The cost of the air fare is higher than of the rail fare.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ɹeɪ(ə)ɫ]
  • /raɪl/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A railroad; a railway, as a means of transportation.

  2. The metal bar forming part of the track for a railroad.

  3. A horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing.

More examples

In context

  • The town is accessible by rail.

  • We travelled to the seaside by rail.

  • a small Scottish village not accessible by rail

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The locomotive relies on the iron blank to stay on track and move forward.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English rail, rayl, *reȝel, *reȝol (found in reȝolsticke (“a ruler”)), partly from Old English regol (“a ruler, straight bar”) and partly from Old French reille; both from Latin regula (“rule, bar”), from regō (“to rule, to guide, to govern”); see regular. Doublet of regal, regula, rigol, and rule.