gantlet

1
[ gant-lit, gawnt- ]

noun
  1. 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)
  1. Railroads. to form or lay down as a gantlet: to gantlet tracks.

Origin of gantlet

1
First recorded in 1900–05; variant of gantlope

Words Nearby gantlet

Other definitions for gantlet (2 of 2)

gantlet2
[ gant-lit, gawnt- ]

noun

Other words from gantlet

  • gant·let·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gantlet in a sentence

  • It was evident 126 enough to him that he had to run the gantlet of the party on board of the Vampire in descending the river.

  • Once, when a prisoner of the Indians, and forced to run the gantlet.

    The Story of the Thirteen Colonies | H. A. (Hlne Adeline) Guerber
  • May our American civilization never have to run the gantlet of such a terrible trial!

    A Librarian's Open Shelf | Arthur E. Bostwick
  • In sheer perplexity he began drawing off his heavy gantlet gloves as though to prepare for action.

    The Rest Hollow Mystery | Rebecca N. Porter

British Dictionary definitions for gantlet (1 of 2)

gantlet1

/ (ˈɡæntlɪt, ˈɡɔːnt-) /


noun
  1. a section of a railway where two tracks overlap

  2. US a variant spelling of gauntlet 2

Origin of gantlet

1
C17 gantlope (modern spelling influenced by gauntlet 1), from Swedish gatlopp, literally: passageway, from gata way (related to gate ³) + lop course

British Dictionary definitions for gantlet (2 of 2)

gantlet2

/ (ˈɡæntlɪt, ˈɡɔːnt-) /


noun
  1. a variant of gauntlet 1

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