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.
U.S. stocks rolled through a divided Federal Reserve, war in the Middle East and a gantlet of tech earnings to wrap up their best month in six years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 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
Tourists flock to the savannah by the hundreds of thousands, hoping to catch sight of the herds as they run a gantlet of crocodiles lying in wait in the Mara River.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
Visitors pass through a biosecurity gantlet at the airport, with specially trained beagles sniffing out such contraband as seeds, fruit, vegetables, meats, or honey.
From Slate ● Aug. 8, 2025
Once upon a time, you ran the gantlet, but you threw down the gauntlet.
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.
