- 1[countable] a wooden or metal bar placed around something as a barrier or to provide support She leaned on the ship's rail and gazed out to sea. see guard rail, handrail
- 2[countable] a bar attached to the wall for hanging things on a picture/curtain rail
- 3[countable, usually plural] each of the two metal bars that form the track that trains run on
- 4[uncountable] (often before another noun) railroads as a means of transport to travel by rail rail travel/services/fares a rail link/network Idioms
- 1to start behaving in a strange or unacceptable manner, for example, drinking a lot of alcohol or taking drugs She went completely off the rails after her sister died.
- 2to lose control and stop functioning correctly The company has gone off the rails in recent years.
to become successful again after a period of failure, or to begin functioning normally again He has helped get the company back on the rails again.
Check pronunciation: rail