brakeman

[ breyk-muhn ]

noun,plural brake·men.
  1. a railroad worker who assists the conductor in the operation of a train.

Origin of brakeman

1
First recorded in 1825–35; brake1 + -man

Words Nearby brakeman

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use brakeman in a sentence

  • "I was sent here by a brakeman on the midnight express," put in Bert.

    Wayside Courtships | Hamlin Garland
  • As he began to104 get his things together, the brakeman came in.

    Wayside Courtships | Hamlin Garland
  • The brakeman sat down opposite Albert, encouraged by his smile.

    Wayside Courtships | Hamlin Garland
  • The brakeman turned with a sharp look which speedily softened as he saw an earnest appeal in the little man's face.

    All He Knew | John Habberton
  • The brakeman and the locomotive engineer and the mechanical engineer and the sailor all have the same spirit.

    The Voice of the Machines | Gerald Stanley Lee

British Dictionary definitions for brakeman

brakeman

/ (ˈbreɪkmən) /


nounplural -men
  1. US and Canadian a crew member of a goods or passenger train. His duties include controlling auxiliary braking power and inspecting the train

  2. the person at the back of a two- or four-man bobsleigh, who operates the brake

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