See third rail in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for third rail meaning in English (6.2kB)
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "third rails",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "third rail (plural third rails)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "49 51",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "54 46",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Electricity",
"orig": "en:Electricity",
"parents": [
"Electromagnetism",
"Physics",
"Sciences",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "81 19",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Rail transportation",
"orig": "en:Rail transportation",
"parents": [
"Transport",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1959 March, “The 2,500 h.p. electric locomotives for the Kent Coast electrification”, in Trains Illustrated, page 125",
"text": "The locomotive third-rail pick up shoes are of the new standard S.R. type. [...] Whenever the locomotive was working hard there was unmistakable evidence of its higher power than its predecessors in the brilliant and explosive arcing between conductor shoes and the third rail; this was particularly vivid in Quarry Tunnel in the down direction, where the display equalled anything we have seen on the frostiest of nights in an electrified third-rail area.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1961 March, “Talking of trains”, in Trains Illustrated, page 134",
"text": "Rumour is abroad that, foiled by the Central T.U.C.C. in its attempt to close the Westerham branch, the Southern Region is considering third-rail electrification of the line with second-hand material. [this never happened and the branch closed later in 1961]",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2023 February 8, Tony Streeter, “Kirkdale: home to Merseyrail's new '777s'”, in RAIL, number 976, page 36",
"text": "Although third-rail operation in the region dates back more than a century, it was in the 1970s that tunnels under Liverpool's city centre opened to bring together previously disparate routes.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains."
],
"id": "en-third_rail-en-noun-vxh1tsOF",
"links": [
[
"electrified",
"electrified"
],
[
"train track",
"train track"
]
],
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "100 0",
"word": "fourth rail"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "100 0",
"word": "conductor rail"
},
{
"_dis1": "100 0",
"word": "live rail"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "95 5",
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "tercer carril"
},
{
"_dis1": "95 5",
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"masculine"
],
"word": "derde rail"
},
{
"_dis1": "95 5",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"word": "virtakisko"
},
{
"_dis1": "95 5",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "troisième rail"
},
{
"_dis1": "95 5",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "rotaia elettrificata"
},
{
"_dis1": "95 5",
"code": "no",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "strømskinne"
},
{
"_dis1": "95 5",
"code": "nn",
"lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "straumskinne"
},
{
"_dis1": "95 5",
"code": "nn",
"lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "strømskinne"
},
{
"_dis1": "95 5",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"Portugal",
"masculine"
],
"word": "terceiro carril"
},
{
"_dis1": "95 5",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"Brazil",
"masculine"
],
"word": "terceiro trilho"
},
{
"_dis1": "95 5",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "tercer riel"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "49 51",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "54 46",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Electricity",
"orig": "en:Electricity",
"parents": [
"Electromagnetism",
"Physics",
"Sciences",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2007 November 12, Jonathan Alter, “Congenital Lawyer Redux”, in Newsweek, page 48",
"text": "Today's rapidly developing third rail (at least in some states) is supporting driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, as favored by New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2014 March 29, Stephen Sestanovich, “Putin's reckless gamble”, in The New York Times",
"text": "Despite ethnic resentment and suspicion, they [Ukraine's leaders] never contemplated breaking up the country. This was the third rail of Ukrainian politics, and very few were willing to touch it. Secession was taboo.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Anything that is dangerous to come into contact with, or is best avoided."
],
"id": "en-third_rail-en-noun-F9eGtnMA",
"links": [
[
"dangerous",
"dangerous"
],
[
"contact",
"contact"
],
[
"avoided",
"avoided"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(by extension) Anything that is dangerous to come into contact with, or is best avoided."
],
"tags": [
"broadly"
]
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Third rail"
],
"word": "third rail"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"en:Electricity",
"en:Rail transportation"
],
"forms": [
{
"form": "third rails",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "third rail (plural third rails)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"word": "fourth rail"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1959 March, “The 2,500 h.p. electric locomotives for the Kent Coast electrification”, in Trains Illustrated, page 125",
"text": "The locomotive third-rail pick up shoes are of the new standard S.R. type. [...] Whenever the locomotive was working hard there was unmistakable evidence of its higher power than its predecessors in the brilliant and explosive arcing between conductor shoes and the third rail; this was particularly vivid in Quarry Tunnel in the down direction, where the display equalled anything we have seen on the frostiest of nights in an electrified third-rail area.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1961 March, “Talking of trains”, in Trains Illustrated, page 134",
"text": "Rumour is abroad that, foiled by the Central T.U.C.C. in its attempt to close the Westerham branch, the Southern Region is considering third-rail electrification of the line with second-hand material. [this never happened and the branch closed later in 1961]",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2023 February 8, Tony Streeter, “Kirkdale: home to Merseyrail's new '777s'”, in RAIL, number 976, page 36",
"text": "Although third-rail operation in the region dates back more than a century, it was in the 1970s that tunnels under Liverpool's city centre opened to bring together previously disparate routes.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains."
],
"links": [
[
"electrified",
"electrified"
],
[
"train track",
"train track"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2007 November 12, Jonathan Alter, “Congenital Lawyer Redux”, in Newsweek, page 48",
"text": "Today's rapidly developing third rail (at least in some states) is supporting driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, as favored by New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2014 March 29, Stephen Sestanovich, “Putin's reckless gamble”, in The New York Times",
"text": "Despite ethnic resentment and suspicion, they [Ukraine's leaders] never contemplated breaking up the country. This was the third rail of Ukrainian politics, and very few were willing to touch it. Secession was taboo.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Anything that is dangerous to come into contact with, or is best avoided."
],
"links": [
[
"dangerous",
"dangerous"
],
[
"contact",
"contact"
],
[
"avoided",
"avoided"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(by extension) Anything that is dangerous to come into contact with, or is best avoided."
],
"tags": [
"broadly"
]
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "conductor rail"
},
{
"word": "live rail"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "tercer carril"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"masculine"
],
"word": "derde rail"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"word": "virtakisko"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "troisième rail"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "rotaia elettrificata"
},
{
"code": "no",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "strømskinne"
},
{
"code": "nn",
"lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "straumskinne"
},
{
"code": "nn",
"lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "strømskinne"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"Portugal",
"masculine"
],
"word": "terceiro carril"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"Brazil",
"masculine"
],
"word": "terceiro trilho"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "the electrified rail that runs beside or between train tracks to power electric trains",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "tercer riel"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Third rail"
],
"word": "third rail"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.