DERAIL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does derail mean? 

• DERAIL (verb)
  The verb DERAIL has 2 senses:

1. cause to run off the tracks

2. run off or leave the rails

  Familiarity information: DERAIL used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DERAIL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they derail    ... he / she / it derails   
Past simple: derailed   
Past participle: derailed   
-ing form: derailing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to run off the tracks

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

they had planned to derail the trains that carried atomic waste

Hypernyms (to "derail" is one way to...):

counteract; countermine; sabotage; subvert; undermine; weaken (destroy property or hinder normal operations)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

derailment (an accident in which a train runs off its track)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Run off or leave the rails

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

derail; jump

Context example:

the train derailed because a cow was standing on the tracks

Hypernyms (to "derail" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

derailment (an accident in which a train runs off its track)

 Context examples 

What upheaval can possibly have derailed him?

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)