derail

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derail

/ˌdiːˈɹeɪl/ UK
/dɪˈɹeɪl/ UK
/ˌdiːˈɹeɪl/ UK
/dɪˈɹeɪl/ UK
/dəˈɹeɪl/ UK
/ˌdiˈɹeɪl/ Canada, US
/dɪˈɹeɪl/ Canada, US
/dəˈɹeɪl/ Canada, US
/ˌdiːˈɹæɪl/ Australia
/dɪˈɹæɪl/ Australia
/dəˈɹæɪl/ Australia
/ˌdiːˈɹæɪl/ New Zealand
/dəˈɹæɪl/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -eɪl

Where it comes from

From French dérailler (“to go off the rails”). Analyzable as de- + rail.

noun derails

Synonym of derailer: A device placed on railway tracks in order to cause a train to derail. The derail was placed deliberately so that the train would fall into the river.
Similar: derailer
An instance of diverting a conversation or debate from its original topic.

verb derails · derailing · derailed

transitive To cause to come off the tracks. The train was destroyed when it was derailed by the collision.
intransitive To come off the tracks. Fortunately, the CrossCountry train did not derail when it struck the mud. It could easily have been much worse.
figuratively, intransitive To deviate from the previous course or direction. The conversation derailed once James brought up politics.
figuratively, transitive To cause to deviate from a set course or direction. The protesting students derailed the professor's lecture.

Similar: unrail

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: jump, scupper, veer, hamper, scuttle, block, budge, backfire, erode, overturn, spoil, collapse, defeat, kill, subvert, undo

verb

Similar: unrail

Translations

Every language

verb to cause to come off the tracks

Español	descarrilar, desrielar, descarriar
中文	越軌 /越轨 yuèguǐ, 出軌 /出轨 chūguǐ, 脫軌 /脱轨 tuōguǐ
Português	descarrilar, descarrilhar
Français	dérailler
Deutsch	entgleisen
Italiano	deragliare
Ελληνικά	εκτροχιάζομαι ektrochiázomai
Română	deraia
Русский	сходи́ть с ре́льсов sxodítʹ s rélʹsov, сойти́ с ре́льсов sojtí s rélʹsov
Tiếng Việt	trật bánh

verb to deviate from the previous course or direction

Français	dérailler
Deutsch	entgleisen
Italiano	deragliare, sbandare

verb to cause to deviate from a set course or direction

Deutsch	zum Entgleisen bringen
Română	submina
Русский	пуска́ть под отко́с puskátʹ pod otkós, срыва́ть sryvátʹ, сорва́ть sorvátʹ

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MLA

"derail." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/derail. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

derail. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/derail

Chicago

"derail." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/derail.

BibTeX

@misc{derail_2026,
  title = {derail},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/derail},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}