brakeman
Americannoun
plural
brakemen-
a railroad worker who assists the conductor in the operation of a train.
noun
-
a crew member of a goods or passenger train. His duties include controlling auxiliary braking power and inspecting the train
-
the person at the back of a two- or four-man bobsleigh, who operates the brake
Etymology
Origin of brakeman
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.
The brakeman tried to apply emergency brakes but failed to prevent the derailment, The cause of the crash remains unknown.
From BBC • Sep. 8, 2025
His father was a brakeman for the Central of Georgia rail company, and when his parents separated when he was 10, Nate moved with his mother and brothers to Elizabeth, N.J., where his grandmother lived.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2025
His father, who worked as a brakeman to supplement the family income, froze to death in a local railyard when Frank was 13.
From New York Times • May 2, 2024
Teaming with brakeman Kaysha Love, Humphries is fifth at the midway point in 2:03.38 — nearly six-tenths of a second away from what currently is the bronze position.
From Fox News • Feb. 18, 2022
“You mean a brakeman off the Wabash Railroad?”
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
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.
