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Definition of "derail" []

  • To run or cause to run off the rails. (verb-transitive)
  • To come or bring to a sudden halt: a campaign derailed by lack of funds; a policy that derailed under the new administration. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "derail" in a sentence
  • "But if it gets too heavy, it could To use your term derail the fun train."
  • "I didn’t have – still don’t have – the emotional energy to even so much as lob a link to How to Suppress Discussions of Racism into the mix, much less actually engage the woman with why that kind of derail is completely inappropriate to the conversation and why doesn’t she try shutting up and listening for a change, etc."
  • "I guess I would have preferred a little more social commentary, especially given the story, but I don’t know where they would have put it that didn’t derail from the movie."