| guardrail [`gärd ´rāl] CIVIL ENGINEERING 1. A handrail. 2. A rail made of posts and a metal strip used on a road as a divider between lines of traffic in opposite directions or used as a safety barrier on curves. 3. A rail fixed close to the outside of the inner rail on railway curves to hold the inner wheels of a railway car on the rail. Also known as check rail; safety rail; slide rail. |