funicular
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to a rope or cord, or its tension.
-
worked by a rope or the like.
noun
noun
adjective
-
relating to or operated by a rope, cable, etc
-
of or relating to a funicle
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of funicular
Explanation
A funicular is a railway that goes up the side of a mountain. A funicular is pulled by a moving cable and involves complex, counterbalanced movements of the cars. It's a coincidence that the word fun is in funicular, though riding a funicular would likely be very fun indeed: it's a railway that goes up a mountain. The real origin of the word has to do with ropes, cables, and pulleys and the complex way these devices are used to move things: such processes were called funicular. From there, funicular became the name of a train that used a similar cable-operated system to move.
Vocabulary lists containing funicular
"Ellen Outside the Lines" by A.J. Sass, Chapters 21–33
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And Both Were Young
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The Silver Arrow
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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:
Most regular guests arrive by the lengthy winding mountain road, or by catamaran from Lucerne followed by a funicular railway, 929 metres long and rising 434 metres.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
Located on a 5-acre lot on the edge of the lake, the dwelling is known as Crystal Pointe and offers direct access to the water via a unique hillside track that operates two funicular trams.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 2, 2026
The head of Lisbon's municipal transport operator and its entire board resigned Wednesday, two days after an inquiry pointed to a faulty cable in a deadly funicular crash last month.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2025
The city's funicular railways - Glória, Lavra, Bica and Graça - are a popular tourist attraction and known for their yellow tram-like vehicles.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2025
Irene might have apologized further, but the funicular gave a mighty jerk at that moment, and the carriage started.
From The Jolliest School of All by Brazil, Angela
In the wake of the Gloria's derailment Lisbon's other funiculars have remained closed while investigators assess their safety.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2025
Unlike traditional funiculars, the two cars on the Gloria funicular are powered by electric motors.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2025
Historical L.A. had funiculars to carry people up and down our hills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2025
With trains, ferries, water buses, taxis, drivers, mountain cable cars and funiculars, bikes, e-bikes and hiking paths, “you can really explore the corners of Italy for quite a ways before you need a car.”
From Washington Post ● Aug. 5, 2021
And how about the magnificent Swiss public-school system, and the manufacturing, and the national railway, with all the splendid engineering that goes with the building of the funiculars and tunnels?
From The Car That Went Abroad Motoring Through the Golden Age by Paine, Albert Bigelow
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
