derailment

American  

[dee-reyl-muhnt] / diˈreɪl mənt /

noun

1. the act or process of derailing.

2. Psychiatry. loosening of associations.

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Etymology

Origin of derailment

1940–45; derail + -ment, or < French déraillement

Example Sentences

The immediate crisis is compounded by the derailment of future supply.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

Stripping out certain one-time items, such as expenses related to its tie-up with Union Pacific and continued costs from its freight-train derailment in Ohio, earnings were $3.22 a share.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

Puente has said investigators were looking to see if a broken section of rail was "the cause or the result" of the derailment.

From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026

Technicians told the El Mundo newspaper that a "bad" or "deteriorated" weld was "more than likely" the cause for the derailment.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026

Chances are his train was late, because in 1984 there was a fire somewhere on the New York system every day and a derailment every other week.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell