Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

brakeman

American  
[brayk-muhn] / ˈbreɪk mən /

noun

  • brakemen
    plural
  1. a railroad worker who assists the conductor in the operation of a train.

  2. brake.


brakeman British  
/ ˈbreɪkmən /

noun

  1. 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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of brakeman

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


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.

See Examples For:

“It’s terrifying. You’re going super, super fast. As a brakeman you can’t see what’s going on because your head is down,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026

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

The sled, being driven by Brad Hall with Nick Gleeson as brakeman, turned over after corner 13 at the Yanqing Sliding Centre.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2022

Sausage patties, which reminded me of the brakeman.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

He is considered one of Great Britain's best bobsleigh brakemen, having won 15 World Cup medals - including three golds - as part of the two-man and four-man teams.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2024

Both said they were relying big-time on their brakemen Tuesday; Humphries is getting pushed by Kaysha Love, Meyers Taylor is getting pushed by Sylvia Hoffman.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2022

“To continue to fight for greater and greater participation among women and get those brakemen get more medal opportunities too.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2022

The technology would end the days of brakemen running on top of train cars to individually apply the brakes, a system that often required miles for a train to stop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2018

The conductor and the brakemen climbed sullenly down, and the baggage-man shoved open his door and slammed a trunk out on the platform without a pretence of sympathy.

From The Nerve of Foley And Other Railroad Stories by Frank H. (Frank Hamilton) Spearman

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training