rail /ˈre(ə)l/
 橫桿,圍欄,欄杆,鐵軌,扶手,秧雞(vt.)以橫木圍欄,鋪鐵軌(vi.)責罵,抱怨


 rail
 導軌


 Rail n.  An outer cloak or covering; a neckerchief for women.


 Rail, v. i.  To flow forth; to roll out; to course. [Obs.]
    Streams of tears from her fair eyes forth railing.   --Spenser.


 Rail, n.
 1. A bar of timber or metal, usually horizontal or nearly so, extending from one post or support to another, as in fences, balustrades, staircases, etc.
 2. Arch. A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling. See Illust. of Style.
 3. Railroad A bar of steel or iron, forming part of the track on which the wheels roll. It is usually shaped with reference to vertical strength, and is held in place by chairs, splices, etc.
 4. Naut. (a) The stout, narrow plank that forms the top of the bulwarks. (b) The light, fencelike structures of wood or metal at the break of the deck, and elsewhere where such protection is needed.
 5. A railroad as a means of transportation; as, to go by rail; a place not accesible by rail.
 Rail fence. See under Fence.
 Rail guard. (a) A device attached to the front of a locomotive on each side for clearing the rail of obstructions. (b) A guard rail. See under Guard.
 Rail joint Railroad, a splice connecting the adjacent ends of rails, in distinction from a chair, which is merely a seat. The two devices are sometimes united. Among several hundred varieties, the fish joint is standard. See Fish joint, under Fish.
 Rail train Iron & Steel Manuf., a train of rolls in a rolling mill, for making rails for railroads from blooms or billets.


 Rail, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Railed p. pr. & vb. n. Railing.]
 1. To inclose with rails or a railing.
    It ought to be fenced in and railed.   --Ayliffe.
 2. To range in a line. [Obs.]
    They were brought to London all railed in ropes, like a team of horses in a cart.   --Bacon.


 Rail, n.  Zool. Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds of the family Rallidae, especially those of the genus Rallus, and of closely allied genera. They are prized as game birds.
 Note: ☞ The common European water rail (Rallus aquaticus) is called also bilcock, skitty coot, and brook runner. The best known American species are the clapper rail, or salt-marsh hen (Rallus longirostris, var. crepitans); the king, or red-breasted, rail (Rallus elegans) (called also fresh-water marshhen); the lesser clapper, or Virginia, rail (Rallus Virginianus); and the Carolina, or sora, rail (Porzana Carolina). See Sora.
 Land rail Zool., the corncrake.


 Rail, v. i.  To use insolent and reproachful language; to utter reproaches; to scoff; -- followed by at or against, formerly by on.
    And rail at arts he did not understand.   --Dryden.
    Lesbia forever on me rails.   --Swift.


 Rail v. t.
 1. To rail at. [Obs.]
 2. To move or influence by railing. [R.]
    Rail the seal from off my bond.   --Shak.

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 rail
      n 1: a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports [syn:
           railing]
      2: short for railway; "he traveled by rail"; "he was concerned
         with rail safety"
      3: a bar or bars of rolled steel making a track along which
         vehicles can roll [syn: track, rails]
      4: a horizontal bar (usually of wood)
      5: any of numerous widely distributed small wading birds of the
         family Rallidae having short wings and very long toes for
         running on soft mud
      v 1: complain bitterly [syn: inveigh]
      2: enclose with rails; "rail in the old graves" [syn: rail in]
      3: provide with rails; "The yard was railed"
      4: separate with a railing; "rail off the crowds from the
         Presidential palace" [syn: rail off]
      5: convey (goods etc.) by rails; "fresh fruit are railed from
         Italy to Belgium"
      6: travel by rail or train; "They railed from Rome to Venice";
         "She trained to Hamburg" [syn: train]
      7: lay with rails; "hundreds of miles were railed out here"
      8: fish with a hand-line over the rails of a boat; "They are
         railing for fresh fish"
      9: spread negative information about; "The Nazi propaganda
         vilified the Jews" [syn: vilify, revile, vituperate]
      10: criticize severely; "He fulminated against the Republicans'
          plan to cut Medicare"; "She railed against the bad social
          policies" [syn: fulminate]