Množina: rails
1. A horizontal bar (usually of wood).
2. A light structure serving as a guard at the outer edge of a ship's deck
3. A fence bounding a racetrack
Množina: rails
Ornithology, kind of small cranelike wading bird. land rail, corncrake.
Any of numerous widely distributed small wading birds of the family Rallidae having short wings and very long toes for running on soft mud.
Any wading bird of the family Rallidae, including the rails proper (genus Rallus), coots, moorhens, and gallinules. Rails have dark plumage, a short neck and wings, and long legs. They are 10–45 cm/4–18 in long.
Many oceanic islands have their own species of rail, often flightless, such as the Guam rail R. owstoni and Auckland Island rail R. muelleri. Several of these species have declined sharply, usually because of introduced predators such as rats and cats.
Množina: rails
A bar of rolled steel forming a track for wheeled vehicles; track; railroad
To complain bitterly; SYN. inveigh.