rail
[noun]
Synonyms: railing, balustrade, banister
[verb]
Synonyms: scold, bawl out, berate, chew out, jaw, rate, revile, tongue-lash, upbraid, vituperate

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. rail¹ S2 W2 /reɪl/ noun
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: reille 'bar', from Latin regula 'ruler', from regere 'to keep straight']

1. [uncountable] the railway system ⇒ train:
the American rail system
a high-speed rail network
Passengers want a better rail service.
the Channel Tunnel and its rail links with London
by rail
We continued our journey by rail.
I need to buy a rail ticket.
cheap rail fares

2. [countable] one of the two long metal tracks fastened to the ground that trains move along

3. [countable] a bar that is fastened along or around something, especially to stop you from going somewhere or from falling:
Several passengers were leaning against the ship’s rail. ⇒ guardrail, handrail

4. [countable] a bar that you use to hang things on:
a towel rail
a curtain rail

5. go off the rails informal to start behaving in a strange or socially unacceptable way:
At 17 he suddenly went off the rails and started stealing.

6. back on the rails happening or functioning normally again:
The coach was credited with putting the team back on the rails.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. rail² verb
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: railler 'to make fun of', from Late Latin ragere 'to make the sound of a horse']

1. [transitive] to enclose or separate an area with rails ⇒ cordon off
rail something off/in
The police railed off the area where the accident happened.

2. [intransitive and transitive] formal to complain angrily about something, especially something that you think is very unfair
rail against/at
Consumers rail against the way companies fix prices.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

rail
noun
I. bar
ADJ. guard, safety | curtain, picture, towel heated towel rails
altar, balcony, banister
VERB + RAIL grip, hold on to, lean on She held tightly on to the rail.
hang from Lace curtains hung from the brass rails over the bed.
fit, fix
PREP. on a/the ~ She sat on the rail.
over a/the ~ He folded the towel over the rail.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

rail
II. (usually rails) tracks
VERB + RAIL run along/on ~ Trams run alog rails.
PREP. along (the) ~s The train thundered along the rails.
between the ~ Weeds grew between the rails.
off the ~s The train came off the rails.
on (the) ~s The gun is mounted on rails.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

rail
III. railway system
RAIL + NOUN fare, ticket | network modernizing the rail network
route | timetable | service | connection, line, link the Channel Tunnel rail link
journey | commuter, passenger, traveller, user | transport, travel | traffic | freight | bridge | accident, crash, disaster | employee, staff, worker | union | enthusiast
PREP. by ~ We went from London to Budapest by rail.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

rail

the rail network/system (=the system of railway lines in a country)
The government has spent £2 billion on improving the country's rail network.
a rail service
People want a safe, reliable rail service.
a rail ticket
a first-class rail ticket
a rail fare
Rail fares are to increase by up to 9.4%.
rail travel
They had introduced measures to make rail travel safer.
a rail passenger
Rail passengers will have to pay more for their tickets next year.
a rail crash
Police have named four more victims of the Selby rail crash.
a rail link (=that makes train travel between two places possible)
He proposed building a high-speed rail link between the two airports.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲