rail
To travel by railwayTo travel by railway.
» Tom held onto the rail for support.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
9 senses(intransitive)To travel by railway.
travel by rail or train
(transitive)To place on a track.
(transitive)To enclose with rails or a railing.
They ought to rail off the playground.
enclose with rails
(transitive)To range in a line.
(slang, transitive, vulgar)To sexually penetrate in a rough manner.
(slang, transitive)To snort a line of powdered drugs.
To complain violently (against, about).
hetzen
руга́тьrugátʹ
complain bitterly
(obsolete)To gush; to flow.
(obsolete)To blow.
Examples
135 sentencesTom held onto the rail for support.
Tom is as thin as a rail.
Tom was as thin as a rail when he was a kid.
Tom was as thin as a rail when he was a child.
Tom was as thin as a rail when he was a boy.
Translations
3 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English rail, rayl, *reȝel, *reȝol (found in reȝolsticke (“a ruler”)), partlyFrom 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.
From Middle French railler.
Probably from Anglo-Norman raier, Middle French raier.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
rails, railing, railed, railedSynonyms
9 synonymsWord family
6 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle