derail

[dee-reyl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR derail ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to cause (a train, streetcar, etc.) to run off the rails of a track.

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)

(of a train, streetcar, etc.) to run off the rails of a track.

to become derailed; go astray.

noun

a track device for derailing rolling stock in an emergency.

Origin of derail

1840–50; < French dérailler, equivalent to dé- dis-¹ + -railler, verbal derivative of rail rail¹ (< E)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for derail

hinder, thwart, crash, wreck, deflect

Examples from the Web for derail

Contemporary Examples of derail

Even a delay in appointments can derail ongoing investigations and regulatory efforts.
Deregulators Lost at the Supreme Court When It Comes to Blocking Presidential Appointees
Aziz Haq
June 26, 2014
Is he rejecting her, or rejecting her cautionary tale—unable to derail his destiny?
All the Signs That Don Draper Will Die on ‘Mad Men’
Kevin Fallon
April 14, 2014
But let me be clear: if this Congress sends me a new sanctions bill now that threatens to derail these talks, I will veto it.
Full Text of President Obama’s 2014 State of the Union Address
January 29, 2014
Used optimally, carbs can enhance your fitness regimen—not derail it!
Carbs 101: The Truth About Carbohydrates
DailyBurn
January 17, 2014
Violence, the White House worried, could derail civil rights legislation on Capitol Hill.
“So Much Hope”: A Reporter Remembers the March on Washington
Hedrick Smith
August 27, 2013

Historical Examples of derail

I had no dynamite with me, and I could neither blow it up nor derail it.
Three Years' War
Christiaan Rudolf de Wet
That would delay it or derail it, and neither option is acceptable.
State of the Union Addresses of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
To add to the traveller's discomfort, the road-bed is as bad as it can be and not derail the cars constantly.
Under the Southern Cross
Maturin M. Ballou
He knew for a certainty whose plantations he might traverse, and whose fences he might derail.
Bayou Folk
Kate Chopin
Stopping the engine they fitted it into the track in such a way that it seemed certain to derail the Confederate engine.
Brave Deeds of Union Soldiers
Samuel Scoville

British Dictionary definitions for derail

derail

verb

to go or cause to go off the rails, as a train, tram, etc

noun

Also called: derailer mainly US a device designed to make rolling stock or locomotives leave the rails to avoid a collision or accident

Derived Formsderailment, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for derail

1850, in both transitive and intransitive senses, from French dérailler "to go off the rails," from de- (see de-) + railler (see rail (n.1)). In general use first in U.S. Related: Derailed; derailing.