Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A protective railing, as on a staircase or along a highway.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun On a railway-track, an additional rail placed beside the rail in service, either with the object of receiving the wheel in case it should leave the track or of preventing the wheel from leaving the track.
  • noun Nautical, a fore-and-aft timber bolted on the outside of the covering-board or plank-sheer on steam-vessels navigating harbors, lakes, and rivers, to act as a fender when lying alongside of other vessels, or when made fast to a dock. Sometimes a second guardrail is carried along the sides just above the water, and is then called a bilge guard-rail.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun a railing placed alongside a stairway or road for safety.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A rail placed alongside a dangerous place in order to improve safety.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a railing placed alongside a stairway or road for safety

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said he is open to discussing the matter, but "it's hard to say" if a guardrail is a good idea.

    Paul & Matt's Sports Attack 2009

  • Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said he is open to discussing the matter, but "it's hard to say" if a guardrail is a good idea.

    Paul & Matt's Sports Attack 2009

  • The guardrail is a long stretch of wooden railing that divides the Robert Moses Parkway and Whirlpool Street running from Main Street near the Rainbow Bridge to Ontario Avenue near the Whirlpool Bridge in the North End. The commission consists of a 20-person board along with countless boosters and volunteers.

    unknown title 2009

  • I can sometimes run off on tangents if I don't have a "guardrail" in place.

    Got My Wires Crossed Jess Granger 2009

  • Eventually, I spotted them on damp soil inside the cavities around the bases of the guardrail posts.

    Archive 2009-05-01 AYDIN 2009

  • Empty shells turned out to be quite abundant among the grass along the metal guardrail separating us from the highway.

    Archive 2009-05-01 AYDIN 2009

  • He jumped to his feet and leapt over the guardrail, flailing momentarily in midair before landing hard on the deck.

    Gideon’s war Howard Gordon 2011

  • They were sitting in front of the fire house drinking beer when the tractor trailer jackknifed through the guardrail.

    Lloyd Gary Moshimer 2011

  • He stopped and took out another section of guardrail.

    Backlash « A Fly in Amber 2009

  • He dragged the section of guardrail out of the way, eyes sharp.

    Backlash « A Fly in Amber 2009

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