monorail

American  

[mon-uh-reyl] / ˈmɒn əˌreɪl /

noun

monorails plural

1. a single rail functioning as a track for wheeled vehicles, as railroad or other cars, balanced upon or suspended from it.

2. a railroad or other transportation system using such a rail.

3. a vehicle traveling on such a rail.

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monorail British  

/ ˈmɒnəʊˌreɪl /

noun

1. a single-rail railway, often elevated and with suspended cars

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• monorails
  plural

Etymology

Origin of monorail

First recorded in 1895–1900; mono- + rail ¹

Explanation

A monorail is similar to a train, but instead of traveling on two tracks, it uses just one. If you visit Tokyo or Disney World, you'll probably travel on a monorail. Most monorails are elevated, with trains either moving above a single track or dangling from it, suspended by a wide rail. They generally run on electricity, which flows through the track and keeps the train moving. The earliest monorails were designed in the late 1800s, and this is also when the word developed, from mono, "one" in Greek, and rail, from the Latin regula, "straight stick."

Related Words

• rail line
• railway
• subway