boxcar

[ boks-kahr ]

/ ˈbɒksˌkɑr /

noun

Railroads. a completely enclosed freight car.

boxcars, a pair of sixes on the first throw of the dice in the game of craps.

adjective

Informal. extremely or disproportionately large: The business had boxcar profits during its first year.

Nearby words

box-top, boxball, boxberry, boxboard, boxboy, boxcar, boxed, boxer, boxer rebellion, boxer shorts, boxer-style

Origin of boxcar

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60; box¹ + car¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for boxcar

Rick and company are out of the boxcar inside Terminus, the “sanctuary for all” which may or may not be filled with cannibals.
Daryl and Carol Reunite in New Walking Dead Teaser Trailer|The Daily Beast|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"You had boxcar loads of currency" moving across borders, says Michael Spencer, an economist who has written about this period.
Get Ready to Barter Like it's 1919|Noah Kristula-Green|June 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Upon reaching the end of the line, Rob emptied his boxcar and placed 10 yellow pawns on the Dachau card.
Brenda Brathwaite: Holocaust Game Designer|Ben Crair|December 13, 2010|DAILY BEAST
But at one point in Cupertino, all but five pawns were on a card or in a boxcar.
Brenda Brathwaite: Holocaust Game Designer|Ben Crair|December 13, 2010|DAILY BEAST

When Rob was the first to move a boxcar to the end of the line, he followed the rules and drew a Terminus card.
Brenda Brathwaite: Holocaust Game Designer|Ben Crair|December 13, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Now he hurried to pass down the train to a boxcar with an open door.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney
I went in and searched this boxcar out, and come out of there, and by that time they were already in the building, I supposed.
Warren Commission (7 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
No sir; this was a caboose of a boxcar, that is what it was, sitting there.
Warren Commission (7 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
With Dan he darted to the boxcar whose door had been pulled shut from the inside.
Dan Carter and the Great Carved Face|Mildred A. Wirt
Behind the engine was a vehicle like a boxcar low hung on wheels.
Automobile Biographies|Lyman Horace Weeks

British Dictionary definitions for boxcar

boxcar

/ (ˈbɒksˌkɑː) /

noun

US and Canadian a closed railway freight van

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for boxcar

boxcar

1856, American English, from box (n.1) + car.