siding

American  

[sahy-ding] / ˈsaɪ dɪŋ /

noun

sidings plural

1. a short railroad track, opening onto a main track at one or both ends, on which one of two meeting trains is switched until the other has passed.

2. any of several varieties of weatherproof facing for frame buildings, composed of pieces attached separately as shingles, plain or shaped boards, or of various units of sheet metal or various types of composition materials.

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siding British  

/ ˈsaɪdɪŋ /

noun

1. a short stretch of railway track connected to a main line, used for storing rolling stock or to enable trains on the same line to pass

2. a short railway line giving access to the main line for freight from a factory, mine, quarry, etc

3. material attached to the outside of a building to make it weatherproof

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unsiding
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sidings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of siding

First recorded in 1595–1605; side ¹ + -ing ¹

Explanation

Siding is what a home builder covers the outside walls of a house with. Some houses have old aluminum siding or newer vinyl siding. Older houses that haven't had new siding applied are likely to have some type of wooden siding, like shingles or clapboards, unless they're made out of brick or stone. It's less expensive to maintain a house with plastic, or vinyl, siding because it doesn't have to be painted every few years. A completely different kind of siding is a track that runs beside the main train tracks, used for storing train cars or allowing one train to pass another.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

siding sidings

But in siding with those officials, Schiltz saw an ulterior motive.

From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026

The judge dismissed the lawsuit, siding with the district’s argument that students shouldn’t be able to sue based on what they are taught in class.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026

Government forces have been accused of siding with tribal groups despite saying they were intervening to restore order.

From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026

A state district court, siding with a legal challenge filed by Horning’s lawyers, dismissed the town’s petition to condemn the parcel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026

A few days after the Bay Meadows Handicap, Seabiscuit’s train clattered to a stop at the Tanforan siding for the long trek east.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Trains pulled in every 15 or 20 minutes, as many as the endlessly enterprising operators of Ukraine's railway network could find in the sidings and marshalling yards.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

Steadman said emotions were starting to run high and the passengers were eventually allowed to get out of the train onto the sidings.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2025

For example, apply matte or low-luster paint to fiber cement or other composite sidings, Viggiano says, or it may end up with a plastic-like appearance.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 14, 2021

Short of building new lines, it would seem useful, perhaps with federal funding, for companies to add more passing sidings on single-track lines and provide two-way running on all existing double-track lines.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 1, 2021

Cultivation stopped halfway, the fruit rotted on the trees and the hundred-twenty-car trains remained on the sidings.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• cladding
• covering