Meanings
nounrail spike (plural rail spikes)
plural rail spikes
- rail transportA type of large nail with an offset head used to fasten a rail or base plate to a wooden railroad tie/sleeper.
The company use on the outside of both rails, on all sharp curves, a cast iron brace nearly the same height as the rail, and secured to tie with three rail spikes.
1887, Fourth Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York, page 147Synonyms: railroad spike
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA type of large nail with an offset head used to fasten a rail or base plate to a wooden railroad tie/sleeper.
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Translations
Japanese 犬釘
- 犬釘 (inukugi)a large nail used to fasten a rail base plate to a tie/sleeper
Russian косты́ль
- косты́ль (kostýlʹ)a large nail used to fasten a rail base plate to a tie/sleeper
Spanish clavo de ferrocarril
- clavo de ferrocarrila large nail used to fasten a rail base plate to a tie/sleeper
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with rail spike
likemikestrikeunlikealikemicspikehikedislikeIkepsychpsychepiquediketrikeshrikevandykerestrikesliketykefikesykevikerike
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
rail spike. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rail%20spike
MLA
“rail spike.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rail%20spike. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rail spike,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rail%20spike.
Source: rail spike on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.