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Synonyms

flagman

American  
[flag-muhn] / ˈflæg mən /

noun

  • flagmen
    plural
  1. a person who signals with a flag or lantern, as at a railroad crossing.

  2. a person who has charge of or carries a flag.


flagman British  
/ ˈflæɡmən /

noun

  1. a person who has charge of, carries, or signals with a flag, esp a railway employee

"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 flagman

First recorded in 1660–70; flag 1 + -man


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:

He was working as a flagman near Zabriskie Point, where road repairs require traffic control.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2023

If the one-lane construction zone was too long for the flagmen to see each other, one handed a flag to the last driver permitted through to give to the other flagman.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 20, 2022

Once the ducks were gathered, the flock flagman led and his helpers with white flags shooed ducks into line at the back and sides.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2016

After adjusting the cap pistol strapped to his hip, he took a whirling cut that brought to mind a finish-line flagman or a revolving lawn sprinkler.

From Golf Digest ● Sep. 25, 2016

The flagman raised his arm, and Cassidy poised his finger over the button of Smith’s bell.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Current safety guidelines rely on communications and shared information between operators, rail operations controllers and, sometimes, flagmen posted on station platforms ahead of a work zone.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2023

The current warning system is built on communication between controllers, operators and often flagmen.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 7, 2023

If the one-lane construction zone was too long for the flagmen to see each other, one handed a flag to the last driver permitted through to give to the other flagman.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 20, 2022

Visions of damage suits and summary discharges may have drifted through their minds, for extra freights were supposed to send flagmen to the crossing to warn all traffic of the train’s approach.

From The Girl Aviators and the Phantom Airship by Margaret Burnham

For this purpose flagmen shall have for day signals not less than two torpedoes and a red flag.

From Railroad Accidents Their Cause and Prevention by R. C. Richards

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