derail
Other forms: derailed; derailing; derails
When a train or a subway derails, its wheels accidentally leave the tracks. Train cars that derail can cause the cars behind them to crash.
Mistakes by engineers or flaws in the track can derail a train or trolley, sending it off the rails and sometimes injuring the passengers. You can also use the verb derail figuratively, to mean "hinder someone" or "divert a process from going in its intended direction." For example, terrorists might derail ongoing peace talks by blowing up a bus. The word comes from the French dérailler, "go off the rails."
-
run off or leave the rails
-
cause to run off the tracks“they had planned to derail the trains that carried atomic waste”type of:counteract, countermine, sabotage, subvert, undermine, weakendestroy property or hinder normal operations
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Vocabulary lists containing derail
No time to scour the headlines or watch the news? No problem! We’ve rounded up the top words heard, read, debated, and discussed this week. Tragedy topped the headlines this week, with the mass shooting in Las Vegas leaving the nation in a state of shock and grief. At horrible times like these, especially after watching a barrage of images on the news, people look for solace wherever they can find it. Some turned to an enigmatic internet distraction named Ramona, while others reveled in the music of Tom Petty, who died this week. Take a look back at the week that was, vocabulary style.
Enrique's mother left Honduras to find work in the United States; eleven years later, Enrique embarked on a dangerous journey to reunite with her. In this powerful nonfiction account, journalist Sonia Nazario recounts his experiences.
No time to scour the headlines or watch the news? No problem! We’ve rounded up the top words heard, read, debated, and discussed this week. This week showed us how little things can turn into big things. A power outage at the Atlanta airport is still having a cascading effect on holiday air travel. A nominee for federal judge whose embarrassing performance in front of Congress a few years ago was all but forgotten is now the subject of national ridicule. A nine-year old boy's selfless act caught the attention of a major tech corporation, which gave the boy what he wanted for Christmas. Take a look back at the week that was, vocabulary style.