Meaning & use
guardrail
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Meanings
nouncountable
A strong metal or wooden barrier along the edge of a road, bridge, or platform that keeps vehicles or people from going off.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a guardrail' or 'guardrails'.
Patterns
- a guardrail along the road
- hit the guardrail
The car skidded and hit the guardrail.
Workers are installing a new guardrail on the bridge.
nouncountablefigurative
A rule or limit that stops a plan, system, or behavior from going too far or causing harm.
Grammar: Often used in the plural: 'guardrails' for a set of rules.
Patterns
- put guardrails in place
- legal guardrails
The new law adds guardrails to protect consumers.
We need guardrails to keep the project on track.
Word forms
| plural | guardrails |
|---|
Common combinations
- metal guardrail
- The metal guardrail was bent in the crash.
- along the guardrail
- We walked along the guardrail to the viewing point.
- install a guardrail
- The city will install a guardrail at the dangerous curve.
- safety guardrail
- A safety guardrail prevents falls from the platform.
Synonyms and how they differ
- barrier
- A barrier is a general word for anything that blocks movement; a guardrail is specifically a rail along an edge.
- crash barrier
- Crash barrier is the British term for a strong barrier on a road; guardrail is more common in American English.
Word family
Commonly confused: guardrail or handrail?
guardrail vs handrail
A handrail is for people to hold onto on stairs, while a guardrail is a safety barrier along a road or edge.
Practice
The car veered off the road and smashed into the ______.
Choose one answer.
A guardrail is a barrier along a road that stops vehicles from leaving it. A handrail is for holding, a guardhouse is a building, and a railway is a track for trains.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “guardrail”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.