third rail
nounDefinition of third rail
1
: a metal rail through which electric current is led to the motors of an electric vehicle (such as a subway car)
2
: a controversial issue usually avoided by politicians
Examples of third rail in a Sentence
Social Security is the third rail of American politics.
Recent Examples on the Web
Fires take many different forms: a motor malfunctions, the third rail smokes. — Sean Smyth, BostonGlobe.com, "Looking back on recent MBTA fires," 23 Aug. 2019 But talk of entitlement reform is called the third rail of US politics for a reason: No one will tolerate any talk of a cut to their old age benefits or a payroll tax increase (and both are necessary to pay for these programs). — Allison Schrager, Quartz, "Critics of the congressional budget deal are ignoring the really big deal," 24 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'third rail.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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