How to Use third rail in a Sentence

third rail

noun
Definition of third railnext
Synonyms for third railnext
  • Social Security is the third rail of American politics.
  • Race is the third rail and the guard rails of our culture.
    — Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2022
  • Rego’s rage runs through the decades, and the galleries of the show, like a third rail.
    — Anna Russel, The New Yorker, 29 July 2021
  • Over the past decade, the rape joke has become the third rail of comedy.
    — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2019
  • No one was injured, but the T had to cut power to the third rail to let the crew backtrack.
    — Laura Crimaldi, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023
  • In the third rail car, a seat had fallen onto Dorsey’s legs, her son said.
    — Meg Kinnard, The Seattle Times, 4 Feb. 2018
  • Now might be the moment where that third rail concept is solved.
    — Michael Gale, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2021
  • It was believed to be caused by a small bag of garbage that was ignited by the third rail.
    — Bradford Betz, Fox News, 27 Apr. 2022
  • Climate change and its implications have been a third rail for much of the world for a long time.
    — Michael Gale, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2021
  • The city's rapid transit lines were shut down for the first time in 20 years as ice covered the electrified third rail.
    — Tom Skilling, chicagotribune.com, 27 Mar. 2018
  • The third rail in this driving force is the environment.
    — Doug Ertz, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2021
  • Just as the president lays his hand on the third rail of race, the athletes are responding.
    — Michael Powell, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2017
  • The woman landed a few feet from the electrified third rail.
    — Justin George, Washington Post, 6 Aug. 2020
  • Gu landed a middling run the first time, then fell off the third rail on her second attempt.
    — New York Times, 14 Feb. 2022
  • The man, Jacinto Suarez, did not come in contact with the electrified third rail and was not struck by a train.
    — Matthew Haag and Ashley Southall, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2018
  • If there is no way to shield it, the MBTA will power down the 600-volt third rail during the work, officials said.
    — John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2023
  • Tame stuff for most comics, but the third rail for a kid from an evangelical Christian home.
    — Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2022
  • There was also a third rail for power overhead inside the cage.
    — Kevin Leonard, baltimoresun.com, 6 Sep. 2019
  • The jury may still be out on Adani, but the very name has become a third rail in India’s politics.
    — Alex Travelli, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2023
  • There have been several near-misses when power to the third rail was turned back on before the tracks were cleared.
    — Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2020
  • But that doesn't speak to the real third rail, intelligence.
    — Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2013
  • The sound of track rats scrambling, deftly avoiding the third rail, in the subway station during the commute home.
    — Dodai Stewart, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2023
  • Because the culture or, to be more precise, these image-makers, are not yet ready to touch that third rail.
    — The New Yorker, 15 Feb. 2022
  • For a while, Macdonald became something of a third rail.
    — Nick Rose, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2021
  • Finally, there’s the third rail of this investment track.
    — Rob Isbitts, Forbes, 11 May 2021
  • And yet in the discourse over admissions equity, sports is a kind of third rail no one seems eager to touch.
    — Town & Country, 18 Jan. 2023
  • But the group carries on with their wine and walks and family meals, skirting the reality of what’s to come like a third rail.
    — Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2020
  • The third rail of French politics has long been pensions and retirement.
    — David A. Andelman, CNN, 11 Jan. 2023
  • To be fair, musical numbers have always had the potential to be a third rail.
    — Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2022
  • An Orange Line supervisor then found a defect in the third rail that had to be repaired.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 4 Dec. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'third rail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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