descarrilar

to derail

verb dehs-kah-rree-LAHR Rare

Origin: From des- (un-) + carril (rail, track).

Usage Note

Descarrilar literally means for a train to come off its rails, and figuratively it means for a plan, conversation, or process to go off course — la reunión descarriló (the meeting went off the rails). The reflexive descarrilarse is also used. The noun is descarrilamiento (derailment).

Examples

"El tren descarriló cerca de la estación."

Natural Translation

The train derailed near the station.

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