How to Use derail in a Sentence

derail

verb
Definition of derailnext
Synonyms for derailnext
  • The train derailed in heavy snow.
  • The train was derailed by heavy snow.
  • The two trains collided head-on, causing both to derail and burst into flames.
    — Justin Klawans, The Week, 5 Mar. 2023
  • Find those sweet spots where local teams can innovate without derailing the overall strategy.
    — Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
  • Its ascent was derailed a bit in recent years as fragrance lovers became fixated on all things gourmand— vanilla scents, to be specific.
    — Kara Nesvig, Allure, 17 Oct. 2024
  • Depending on where the recipient was located on the left-of-center spectrum, a career might be stalled, derailed, or killed.
    — Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Oct. 2024
  • And though Grapes derailed her career, Babb never stopped mining her childhood for material.
    — Mark Athitakis, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2024
  • The other day, in Madison Square Park, Gadsby was derailed mid-thought by the sound of a passerby rustling a paper bag.
    — Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
  • At the civic center, a birthday party was derailed Saturday when floodwaters began pouring onto the dance floor.
    — Walter Berry and Susan Montoya Bryan, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2024
  • The affidavit describes a plot to derail Christopher Donohue’s efforts to get custody of couple's two youngest children.
    — Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 22 Mar. 2023
  • The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank threatens to derail what was a fast and growing part of the venture capital sector.
    — David Gelles, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2023
  • Norfolk Southern has been under a magnifying glass since one of its trains disastrously derailed in East Palestine—and for good reason.
    — Prem Thakker, The New Republic, 16 Mar. 2023
  • The key to not derailing is to get the right systems in place.
    — Colin C. Campbell, Forbes, 3 May 2023
  • Named for the bookkeeper who kept the correspondence, the Mulligan letters derailed Blaine’s nomination and haunted him for the rest of his career.
    — Robert B. Mitchell / Made By History, TIME, 24 Oct. 2024
  • Two of the 16 CSX train cars that derailed were breached, spilling molten sulfur.
    — Natalie Kainz, NBC News, 29 Nov. 2023
  • But the pain from Alex's cancer threatened to derail those plans.
    — Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 28 July 2023
  • Challenges are bound to arise in the month ahead, but don’t let this derail your journey.
    — Valerie Mesa, Peoplemag, 5 June 2024
  • Without him in the lineup, that two-month stretch could derail the whole plan this year.
    — Daniel Kohn, Spin, 6 Sep. 2023
  • The train derailed just west of the village of Reeseville in Dodge County around 2 p.m. Tuesday.
    — Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2023
  • The sense that nothing can derail the quest for the idyllic night out sits at the core of Scott’s art — not beef, not death, not taxes.
    — Vulture, 2 Aug. 2023
  • Snell’s groove was derailed in the third, starting with Kyle Schwarber’s two-run, no-doubt-about-it home run over the right field wall.
    — Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 27 May 2024
  • So for all the people who keep trying to steal my focus, or derail me.
    — Okla Jones, Essence, 3 Sep. 2024
  • The power struggle has derailed a shift to civilian rule and raised fears of a wider conflict.
    — Reuters, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2023
  • There are so many interests that have a claim to this site that can derail almost any kind of project.
    — James Barron, New York Times, 12 July 2023
  • In Mount Vernon, the storm tore off roofs, smashed into mobile homes and derailed train cars.
    — John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 10 July 2024
  • But, once again, a makeshift offensive line will derail his progress.
    — Nicole Yang, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Aug. 2023
  • As such, the prospect of a merger is no longer tainted by the sort of antitrust concerns that derailed the first attempt 22 years ago.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 30 Sep. 2024
  • The issue derailed talks for more than a week last month before studios returned to the table.
    — TIME, 11 Nov. 2023
  • Water submerged streets and highways, broke dams and derailed a high-speed train.
    — Christopher F. Schuetze, New York Times, 3 June 2024
  • Minaj went on to allege that the airport stop was all part of a scheme to keep her from Manchester and to derail her tour.
    — Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 3 June 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'derail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: