railing
/ˈɹeɪlɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
railing is spelled R-A-I-L-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,629th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, railing means “That rails; engaged in or given to violent complaining” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in railing?
| Letters | 7: R-A-I-L-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words; the 20,629th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is railing?
Railing appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,629th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce railing?
- /ˈɹeɪlɪŋ/
Railing has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-railing.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of railing
- more railing comparative
- most railing superlative
- railings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does railing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
That rails; engaged in or given to violent complaining.
- 2
Filled with invective and violent complaints
- 3
Blowing violently.
noun
- 1
A fence or barrier consisting of one or more horizontal rails and vertical supports.
During the war, everyone's railings were taken away to make bombers.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of rail
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Railing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense fence or barrier:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does railing come from?
By surface analysis, rail + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).