rails

3 1.0

Long steel bars that trains run on

noun
/reɪlz/

: rieles

The construction crew laid down new rails for the upcoming commuter line.

Examples

Luckily you have nice sturdy rails to save your life.
That's how the rails stay snugly against the Bench Dogs.
They're exposed screws in the doors, the seat rails everywhere you look.
There's the metal flat part that touches the the metal rails, but then there's another part.
The train travels smoothly along the rails that support it.
Before the train can depart, workers need to ensure the rails are properly aligned.

Synonyms

rail

vsrails

157 1.9

A long bar fixed for people to hold or as a fence

is about steel bars forming train paths rather than general barriers

railroad track

vsrails

32 2.5

Two metal rails on the ground that trains run on

refers to individual parallel steel bars rather than the paired pathway

Idioms

to ride the rails

4 7.4

To travel long distances by train in a relaxed or adventurous way

on the rails

1 6.8

Working well again after problems

Surface Forms

rail singular

rails plural

Morphology

rails = rail (transparent) = rail + s

Regular plural formation from the noun 'rail'; the meaning is directly the plural of the base noun.

Etymology

Rails comes from an old word for a long 'bar' or 'stick', an idea you can see in ruler (a straight measuring stick). So rails are the long metal bars that guide and hold trains on their track.