Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To run or cause to run off the rails.
- v. To come or bring to a sudden halt: a campaign derailed by lack of funds; a policy that derailed under the new administration.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To cause to leave the rails or run off the track, as a railroad-train: as, the engine was derailed at the crossing.
- To run off the track or rails.
- n. In railroading, a switch which is designed to divert or throw a train or car from the track or to stop its further progress. Derails are placed on sidings to prevent a ear from being moved from the siding to the line when the switch is closed; they are also used it draw-bridges and at crossings. Any emergency obstruction on a track may serve as a derail. Derails on sidings are placed beyond the clearance-point of a switch.
Wiktionary
- n. A device placed on railway tracks causing a train to derail.
- v. transitive To cause to come off the tracks.
- v. intransitive To come off the tracks.
- v. intransitive To deviate from the previous course or direction.
- v. transitive To cause to deviate from a set course or direction.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To cause to run off from the rails of a railroad, as a locomotive.
WordNet 3.0
- v. cause to run off the tracks
- v. run off or leave the rails
Etymologies
- From de- + rail. (Wiktionary)
- French dérailler : dé-, off (from Old French de-; see de-) + rail, rail (from English; see rail1). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“But if it gets too heavy, it could To use your term derail the fun train.”
“I didn’t have – still don’t have – the emotional energy to even so much as lob a link to How to Suppress Discussions of Racism into the mix, much less actually engage the woman with why that kind of derail is completely inappropriate to the conversation and why doesn’t she try shutting up and listening for a change, etc.”
“I guess I would have preferred a little more social commentary, especially given the story, but I don’t know where they would have put it that didn’t derail from the movie.”
“The designation could derail the city's plans to recycle its own wastewater and to reduce its reliance on imported water, she said.”
“Do not let that word derail us from a far larger conversation we as a country should be having.”
“Why can't you guys get rid of the word "derail" and give a positive spin to it? mike”
Top Dem aide: 'Significant policy issues' could still derail deal
“Free State ANC working committee member Thabo Manyoni said the outcome of the court proceedings was an indication that people who wanted to "derail" the ANC would not succeed.”
“Delphi has accused the investors of fraud and of conspiring to avoid closing on the agreement and "derail" Delphi's bankruptcy plan.”
“There's no attempt or intention by anyone to "derail" the topic.”
“Zionism could "derail" an upcoming UN conference on racism.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘derail’.
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Mollusque's miscellany
A mixture of words that I like or have commented on, along with ones parked here so they'd be listed somewhere or remind me of lists I want to make.
oranger, monographer, preoccupied, bu, bobization, coinventor, tetrapyloctomy, borgmannian, suspercollate, manhug, mancrush, obituarist and 604 more...
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May
fun words to stay
derail, push around, in print, take your change, monologue, corduroy, integration, cone, kiss curl, compact, run up, tug and 3 more...
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Enemies
superciliousness, obsequious, docile, vehemently, remonstration, chagrin, regurgitate, succumb, derail, secede, veer, supposition
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KollaKolla's Words
spatula, sanguinary, phylactery, colour, favourite, velocity, blockhead, cookie, insatiable, deviant, expunge, irrational and 45 more...
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Eloquence
thwart, emulate, shun, bold, brazen, disgruntled, aberration, conclusively, destitute, indefensible, astute, discernment and 52 more...
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D
Tweets
Looking for tweets for derail.
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