caboose

American  

[kuh-boos] / kəˈbus /

noun

1. a car on a freight train, used chiefly as the crew's quarters and usually attached to the rear of the train.

2. British. a kitchen on the deck of a ship; galley.

3. Slang. the buttocks.

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caboose British  

/ kəˈbuːs /

noun

1. informal short for calaboose

2. railways a guard's van, esp one with sleeping and eating facilities for the train crew

3. nautical

   1. a deckhouse for a galley aboard ship or formerly in Canada, on a lumber raft

   2. the galley itself

4. 1. a mobile bunkhouse used by lumbermen, etc

   2. an insulated cabin on runners, equipped with a stove

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Etymology

Origin of caboose

1740–50; < early modern Dutch cabūse ( Dutch kabuis ) ship's galley, storeroom; compare Low German kabuus, kabüse, Middle Low German kabuse booth, shed; further origin uncertain

Explanation

A caboose is a train car that is usually at the end. If you are pulling up the rear, you could call yourself the caboose. The engine is the first car on a freight train, and the last car is usually the caboose. Besides being last, the other feature of a caboose is its use by the crew. Most of a freight train will be filled with whatever cargo they're transporting, and they need to use that space as efficiently as possible. The caboose is where the crew can hang out during the trip. If there's a kitchen on the train, it will usually be in the caboose.

Related Words

• box
• camp
• chalet
• compartment
• cottage
• home
• hut
• lodge
• room
• shack
• shanty
• shed
• shelter