boxcar

American  

[boks-kahr] / ˈbɒksˌkɑr /

noun

1. Railroads. a completely enclosed freight car.

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

---

adjective

1. Informal. extremely or disproportionately large.

   The business had boxcar profits during its first year.

boxcar British  

/ ˈbɒksˌkɑː /

noun

1. a closed railway freight van

---

Etymology

Origin of boxcar

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60; box ¹ + car ¹

Example Sentences

As California historian Kevin Starr wrote, Culver used gimmicks and giveaways and stunts like kids’ boxcar races, raffles, parades, and, memorably, a polo game played from the running boards of Model Ts.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2023

The object of the game is for players to fill a boxcar with tokens and get it to the other side of a board.

From Washington Post • Mar. 24, 2023

At the funeral in his hometown, a ballad played remembering migrants who suffocated in a Texas boxcar 35 years ago.

From Reuters • Aug. 1, 2022

The men had crossed into the United States near El Paso and were herded by a smuggler into a heavily insulated boxcar with massive thick floors and walls.

From Salon • Jun. 29, 2022

The darkness of the tunnel quickly turned the boxcar into a grave.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead