Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
derail - 4 dictionary results
Discount SRAM Components
 Starting at $15.95 + Free Shipping Your Best Price & Value Guaranteed!
 GreenFishSports.com

de⋅rail

  [dee-reyl]
Use derail in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to cause (a train, streetcar, etc.) to run off the rails of a track.
2. to cause to fail or become deflected from a purpose; reduce or delay the chances for success or development of: Being drafted into the army derailed his career for two years.
–verb (used without object)
3. (of a train, streetcar, etc.) to run off the rails of a track.
4. to become derailed; go astray.
–noun
5. a track device for derailing rolling stock in an emergency.
Origin:
1840–50; < F dérailler, equiv. to dé- dis- 1 + -railler, v. deriv. of rail rail 1 (< E)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To derail
de·rail   (dē-rāl')   
intr. & tr.v.   de·railed, de·rail·ing, de·rails
  1. To run or cause to run off the rails.
  2. To come or bring to a sudden halt: a campaign derailed by lack of funds; a policy that derailed under the new administration.

[French dérailler : dé-, off (from Old French de-; see de-) + rail, rail (from English; see rail1).]
de·rail'ment n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Derail

De*rail"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Derailed; p. pr. & vb. n. Derailing.] To cause to run off from the rails of a railroad, as a locomotive. --Lardner.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

derail 
1850, in both trans. and intrans. senses, from Fr. dérailler, first in general use in U.S. See rail.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see derail on Thesaurus | Reference
Discount SRAM Components
 Starting at $15.95 + Free Shipping Your Best Price & Value Guaranteed!
 GreenFishSports.com