rail
part of speech
noun (a rail, rails; rail — the railway system); verb (rail — to complain angrily, rare)
meaning for a pupil
1) A rail is a long bar fixed in place, used to hold on to, to hang things on, or to make a fence. tree →
2) Rails are the metal bars that trains run on. tree →
3) Rail means the railway, as in travel by rail. tree →
4) To rail at someone means to complain or shout angrily at them. tree →
sense in the lessons
In safety, hold the hand rail on stairs and escalators, and never climb on balcony rails. Train rails can be very dangerous: never play on or near railway lines, and cross only at proper crossings when lights and barriers show it is safe; some rails carry electricity. In everyday life, clothes hang on a rail; towels on a towel rail. In geography, rail transport moves people and goods. «Off the rails» means out of control.
examples
- Hold on to the rail when you go down the stairs. tree →
- Never play near the railway rails. tree →
- The train runs on metal rails. tree →
- We travelled by rail from London to Edinburgh. tree →
- Hang your coat on the rail. tree →
- The towel rail in the bathroom is warm. tree →
- Don't lean over the balcony rail. tree →
- And the poor wife put everything to rights, and reproached and railed at her husband. tree →
note
Countable for bars (a rail, rails); uncountable for the system (by rail). «Railway» (UK) or «railroad» (US). «Railing(s)» = a fence of rails. «Handrail» = a rail to hold.
In the corpora
- Read it aloud and the quick beat sounds like wheels rushing on rails.
- The third rail carries enough electricity to kill, so you never go near the tracks.
- The electricity in a third rail or overhead wire can kill a person in a moment, and it is always switched on.
- On escalators in malls you hold the rail and never run up the down escalator.
- Bike wheels can get stuck in tram rails, so cyclists cross them at an angle.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «rail» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.