Word.ws English Dictionary

off the rails

off the rails prepositional phrase: in an abnormal manner, especially in a manner that causes damage or malfunctioning.

Prepositional phrase

  1. (idiomatic) In an abnormal manner, especially in a manner that causes damage or malfunctioning.
  2. (idiomatic) Insane.
  3. (idiomatic) Off the intended path.
    • ... but the plan came off the rails when infuriated Communists called it "ideological provocation" and warned against "kindling political confrontation2009 July 13, Ed Bentley, “Lenin 1, Tsar Nicholas 0 – but Sheremetyevo-3”, in Moscow News
    • "The DfT appears to have put things on a firmer footing, but the path is littered with cautionary tales of transport projects that later went off the rails.2022 August 10, Mel Holley, “Network News: Question marks over TransPennine upgrade spending”, in RAIL, number 963, page 24
  4. (idiomatic) Out of control.
    • I reckon it's pretty astonishing that none of us did go off the rails. There really was no telling how any of us would deal with the pressures and the fame.2009 July 10, Jenny Johnston, “You won't catch us going to rehab: So have the young stars of Harry Potter turned into superbrats?”, in Daily Mail
  5. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see off, rail.
    • The train did not come off the rails and nobody was injured.2024 February 21, “Safety changes recommended after train hits collapsed wall”, in RAIL, number 1003, page 19

Origin of off the rails

Suggesting the derailment of a locomotive.

Questions about off the rails

What does off the rails mean?
Off the rails means in an abnormal manner, especially in a manner that causes damage or malfunctioning.
What part of speech is off the rails?
Off the rails is a prepositional phrase.

Words near off the rails in the dictionary

  1. off the market
  2. off the nut
  3. off the plan
  4. off the radar
  5. off the radio
  6. off the rails
  7. off the record
  8. off the reservation
  9. off the rip
  10. off the scale
  11. off the shelf

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: off the rails (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-off the rails.ogg.

Cite this entry: “off the rails.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/off_the_rails. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.