caboose

American  

[kuh-boos] / kəˈbus /

noun

1. a car on a freight train, used chiefly as the crew's quarters and usually attached to the rear of the train.

2. British. a kitchen on the deck of a ship; galley.

3. Slang. the buttocks.

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caboose British  

/ kəˈbuːs /

noun

1. informal short for calaboose

2. railways a guard's van, esp one with sleeping and eating facilities for the train crew

3. nautical

   1. a deckhouse for a galley aboard ship or formerly in Canada, on a lumber raft

   2. the galley itself

4. 1. a mobile bunkhouse used by lumbermen, etc

   2. an insulated cabin on runners, equipped with a stove

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Etymology

Origin of caboose

1740–50; < early modern Dutch cabūse ( Dutch kabuis ) ship's galley, storeroom; compare Low German kabuus, kabüse, Middle Low German kabuse booth, shed; further origin uncertain

Example Sentences

The group came together at Sedalia, Mo., high school, scrounged up money and bought a caboose from a local salvage yard.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

The band has kicked off previous albums in New York with great fanfare, once rolling down Fifth Avenue on a flatbed truck and on another occasion riding on a caboose into Grand Central Terminal.

From Reuters • Oct. 20, 2023

An old railroad caboose has been transformed into The Railway Cafe, offering coffee, light breakfast and lunch.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 26, 2023

It’s not for everyone, but going into the Train Shack, seeing Todd and Mindy and Chris and getting a new chimney for your Christmas caboose — that’s a good activity.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2023

We passed the caboose of the one we rode in on.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson

Related Words

• box
• camp
• chalet
• compartment
• cottage
• home
• hut
• lodge
• room
• shack
• shanty
• shed
• shelter