Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

bullet train

American  

noun

bullet trains plural
  1. a high-speed passenger train, as on certain routes in Japan.


bullet train British  

noun

  1. a passenger train that travels at very high speed

"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 bullet train

First recorded in 1965–70

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:

She had just taken a two-hour ride on the bullet train from Daegu to attend Lee Sulla's "book concert" in Seoul - an evening of music and author-led readings.

From BBC Apr. 18, 2026

Koike hopes to do in 15 days what takes other manufacturers 50, charging extra for an express service like Japan’s Shinkansen bullet train.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 4, 2026

GPUs can do a lot more, but for many current AI loads, TPU is like a bullet train.

From Barron's Nov. 28, 2025

The bullet train was proposed decades ago as a way to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco in less than three hours by 2020.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 20, 2025

“Maybe. I don't know yet. Only takes twenty-three hours by bullet train to get to New York City. I looked it up.”

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

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

Start training