derail
verb (used with object)
to cause (a train, streetcar, etc.) to run off the rails of a track.
derailed
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past participleof derail.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof derail.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
derailverb (used with object)to cause (a train, streetcar, etc.) to run off the rails of a track.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Videos published by Spanish media show derailed train cars that had fallen down an embankment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Billy Bush, the veteran on-air host whose career was derailed by a crude off-camera conversation he had with President Trump in 2005, has signed on as a contributor to Fox News.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
If some of these satellites get hacked, damaged, derailed, or destroyed, America’s ability to fight a war would be seriously degraded.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
At least 44 people have been injured, including one seriously, after a passenger train derailed in northern France, local officials have said.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
These stories spread the false claim that Slave Power agents had derailed the President’s train and killed his son, Bennie.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
