caboose
[ kuh-boos ]
/ kəˈbus /
noun
a car on a freight train, used chiefly as the crew's quarters and usually attached to the rear of the train.
British. a kitchen on the deck of a ship; galley.
Slang. the buttocks.
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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
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
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British Dictionary definitions for caboose
caboose
/ (kəˈbuːs) /
noun
US informal short for calaboose
railways, US and Canadian a guard's van, esp one with sleeping and eating facilities for the train crew
nautical
- a deckhouse for a galley aboard ship or formerly in Canada, on a lumber raft
- mainly British the galley itself
Canadian
- a mobile bunkhouse used by lumbermen, etc
- an insulated cabin on runners, equipped with a stove
Word Origin for caboose
C18: from Dutch cabūse, of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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