switch engine
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of switch engine
An Americanism dating back to 1865–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At Philadelphia their cars were attached to a switch engine, shuttled off to Bustleton.
From Time Magazine Archive
In Ogden, Utah, police investigated a theft from the Union Pacific yards, tracked down and arrested Marlin Lamar Tullis, 27, and a friend, accused them of making off with 116-ton Diesel heavy-duty switch engine.
From Time Magazine Archive
Example: a White truck on railroad wheels, now used as a Port Cargill switch engine.
From Time Magazine Archive
The story opens with his death�run over by a switch engine one foggy night.
From Time Magazine Archive
"I might as well been pleadin' with a switch engine," he went on.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
