gantlet
1 Americannoun
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Railroads. a track construction used in narrow places, in which two parallel tracks converge so that their inner rails cross, run parallel, and diverge again, thus allowing a train to remain on its own track at all times.
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
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a section of a railway where two tracks overlap
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a variant spelling of gauntlet 2
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gantlet
First recorded in 1900–05; variant of gantlope
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.
The latest legal challenge, which seeks class-action status, aims to skip a gantlet of state-by-state fights and act on behalf of all the roughly 600 dealers in Volkswagen’s U.S. network.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
Some tankers have sailed through, but several owners said they aren’t willing to run the gantlet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
However, as will be well familiar for those who have run the gantlet on investing in China, regulatory risks loom large.
From Barron's ● Dec. 23, 2025
Going through the private-school gantlet of the Trinity League is not easy but the Huskies fear no one.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 23, 2025
But over the centuries, the differences between gantlet and gauntlet have become fuzzy, and today’s dictionaries say gauntlet will do for all occasions.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
