Definition of derail - Reverso English Dictionary
Verb
1.
plan failuretr. cause a plan to failtr.
- The budget cuts derailed the expansion plans.
2.
rail incidentintr. TECH. come off the tracks accidentallyintr. TECH.
- The train derailed near the station.
3.
communicationtr. Rare divert a conversation from its topictr. Rare
- His comment derailed the meeting discussion.
4.
rail interferencetr. TECH. cause a train to come off the trackstr. TECH.
- The heavy rain derailed the train.
Noun
1.
conversation shiftRare change in topic during a talkRare
- The derail happened when someone mentioned a new topic.
2.
train safetyTECH. device on tracks to stop trainsTECH.
- The derail was used to prevent a collision.
Images of derail

device on tracks to stop trains
Expressions with derail
💡 Discover popular phrases, idioms, collocations, or phrasal verbs. Click any expression to learn more, listen to its pronunciation, or save it to your favorites.
cause someone's plans to fail or go off track
The sudden storm derailed their plans for a picnic.
Origin of derail
French, dérailler (go off the rails)
Terms with derail included in their meaning
💡 A powerful way to uncover related words, idioms, and expressions linked by the same idea — and explore meaning beyond exact word matches.
rail transport
railway points to derail out-of-control vehicles
online behavior
repeated questions meant to annoy, provoke, or derail discussion
Examples of derail in a sentence
The sudden storm derailed our weekend plans. Several carriages derailed during the storm. The freight train derailed due to a broken rail. She tried to derail the conversation with a joke. The unexpected question derailed the interview. A fallen tree derailed the morning express.
The engineer's error nearly derailed the freight train. A derail occurred when politics came up. The meeting suffered a derail with the unexpected question. A derail was installed to enhance track safety. The train was stopped by the derail during the test.
View all translations of derail
Click below to see the appropriate translations facing each meaning.
- French:faire échouer, digression, ...
- German:scheitern lassen, Themenwechsel, ...
- Italian:far deragliare, deviazione, ...
- Spanish:descarrilar, desvío, ...
- Portuguese:descarrilar, mudança de tópico, ...
- Chinese:使受挫, 话题转移, ...
- Japanese:頓挫させる, 脱線, ...
- Arabic:عَرْقَلَ, خروج عن الموضوع, ...
- Hebrew:לְטַרְפֵּד, סְטִיָּה מֵהַנּוֹשֵׂא, ...
- Russian:срывать, смена темы, ...
- Ukrainian:зривати, зміна теми, ...
- Hindi:पटरी से उतारना, विषयांतर, ...
icon to discover related terms: analogies, antonyms, common collocates, words with same roots, umbrella terms… Try with happening or hunch.
icon next to the first example to see two additional options and learn to use new vocabulary naturally.
icon to save words you want to revisit. You can also save a specific meaning by clicking on the