Skip to content

dérailler

to derail

verb deh-rah-YEH Rare

Also means

to go off the rails

Usage Note

Dérailler literally means for a train to leave the rails, but figuratively it means for a plan, conversation, or person to go off track or behave erratically. La discussion a déraillé ('the discussion went off the rails') is a common figurative use. The related noun is déraillement ('derailment').

Examples

"Le train a déraillé près de Lyon."

Natural Translation

The train derailed near Lyon.

Explore French by topic