go off the rails

idiom

informal
: to lose control and start to behave in a way that is not normal or acceptable
He was a promising student but he went off the rails after he started taking drugs.

Examples of go off the rails in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Things go off the rails a bit with Spider-Man 3, which is a bit overstuffed in, well, just about every way. Evan Romano, Men's Health, 2 June 2023 Gaughan had an acute sense that such a major case could, without careful tending, go off the rails at any moment, McMahon said. Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune, 27 Nov. 2022 Making seasonal deals available weeks or months before Black Friday can ease some of the pressure and reduce the likelihood that anything will go off the rails. Gary Drenik, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 Ivan Perez, 53, is philosophical about what caused his life to go off the rails. New York Times, 18 Apr. 2022 See all Example Sentences for go off the rails 

Dictionary Entries Near go off the rails

Cite this Entry

“Go off the rails.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/go%20off%20the%20rails. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!