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cattle car

American  

noun

  1. Railroads. stock car.

  2. Slang. a railroad passenger car providing little comfort and few amenities.


Etymology

Origin of cattle car

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

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:

The Jewish girl and her family were first imprisoned in a ghetto on the outskirts of town and later forced onto a cattle car that took them to the Pechora concentration camp in 1941.

From Washington Times Apr. 18, 2023

In the documentary, Clary recalled a happy childhood until he and his family was forced from their Paris apartment and put into a crowded cattle car that carried them to concentration camps.

From Seattle Times Nov. 17, 2022

“When you get in a cattle car, you don’t really know what’s going to happen to you,” Ron said.

From Washington Post Mar. 29, 2022

Stojka would paint the cattle car in which she was deported: a rickety thing, its rear window barred, charging into a sky burning white, pink and orange.

From New York Times Jan. 27, 2020

He kicked at the wall of the cattle car.

From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz

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