cowcatcher

American

[kou-kach-er] / ˈkaʊˌkætʃ ər /

noun

a triangular frame at the front of a locomotive, especially a steam locomotive, designed for clearing the track of obstructions.

cowcatcher British

/ ˈkaʊˌkætʃə /

noun

a metal frame on the front of a locomotive to clear the track of animals or other obstructions

"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

Etymology

Origin of cowcatcher

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; cow ¹ + catcher

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.

Maybe it’s the colorful psychedelic-painted steam locomotive, where balls that miss the tunnel underneath ricochet off the cowcatcher with a satisfying clang.

From Washington Post • Aug. 11, 2021

Put a cowcatcher on the front of that locomotive, because it is about to run into a whole lot of bull.

From Washington Times • Mar. 7, 2017

In 1929 he rode a cowcatcher through an engineers' picket line to break his first strike.

From Time Magazine Archive

His engagingly homely face is his No. 1 political asset, with its drooping eyelids, lean cheeks, long nose, wide-spaced teeth, and the famed "cowcatcher chin."

From Time Magazine Archive

“In case you haven’t noticed, you waif, you are about to be hooked on the cowcatcher of that streetcar.”

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023