derailment
dee-RAYL-muhnt
/diːˈreɪlmənt/
An incident in which a train leaves the tracks on which it is traveling.
Describes a severe operational accident involving track departure, ranging from minor yard incidents to major accidents.
The story behind the word. Borrowed from French 'dérailler' in the mid-19th century. French engineers combined the prefix 'dé-' (off/away from) with 'rail' (from Latin 'regula', rule or straight bar) to describe a train jumping its track.
Word relationships
- track departure: Track departure is a formal regulatory term, whereas derailment is standard industry and general public usage.
Commonly confused with
- collision: A collision involves striking another object or train, whereas a derailment means coming off the steel rails.
Word family
- derail (verb): To cause a train to leave its tracks; or metaphorically to disrupt a process.
Collocations
- train derailment
- prevent derailment
- derailment cause
- catastrophic derailment
Idioms & expressions
- derail a project
Example sentences
- "Federal investigators were dispatched to the site of the derailment to determine if broken track rails caused the freight train accident." Safety News
Memory hook
DE- (off from) + RAIL: going completely off the rails. Off the iron rails.
When not to use
Do not use for road traffic accidents involving automobiles; it is strictly reserved for tracked vehicles like trains and trams.
Fun facts
- Railways use intentional safety devices called 'derails' to intentionally stop runaway cars before they enter mainlines.
Related words
Explore more words
incident, wreckage, locomotive, train, malfunction, deflection
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