siderate

Siderate is a rare English verb used in railway language to mean moving into a siding, a track that diverges from the main line. A train may siderate so that another service can pass, to wait for a signal, or to enter a freight or storage yard. The word is closely associated with operations in which a train must leave the running line temporarily without leaving the railway system altogether. Although siderate looks as though it might mean to move something generally aside or to divert it, its conventional use is specialized and refers to a train or railway vehicle entering a siding. In ordinary discussion, drivers or passengers would normally say that a train moved into, or took, a siding. Siderate is therefore useful chiefly as precise railway vocabulary and as an uncommon example of a distinctly operational verb formed in the language of trains and tracks.

To move into a railway siding, as a train or other railway vehicle does.

Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.

Where does siderate come from?

Siderate developed within English railway vocabulary, using the stem side in reference to a side track or siding and the verbal suffix -ate. Its specialized sense belongs to the terminology of train operations, rather than to the general sense of placing something aside. It belongs to the same ordinary English word family as siding, sideline, and sidetrack.

Related word forms

How siderate is actually used

This is a rare, technical railway term rather than standard everyday English. Although its form suggests a general connection with being on one side, its established meaning is specifically railway-related.

Easily confused with siderate

Words and phrases paired with siderate

Rhymes with siderate