handcar

American

[hand-kahr] / ˈhændˌkɑr /

noun

a small railroad car or platform on four wheels propelled by a mechanism worked by hand, used on some railroads for inspecting tracks and transporting workers.

Etymology

Origin of handcar

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; hand + car ¹

Vocabulary lists containing handcar

"Another Place, Another Time," Vocabulary from the short story

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

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.

Bike-adjacent inventions that roll atop train tracks have been known by many different names — handcar, draisine, kalamazoo and velocipede are just a few — since they first cropped up around the 1860s.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2023

In 1962, he published the marvellous “Willowdale Handcar,” in which three young people take off one day on a railroad handcar.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 3, 2018

The Disney toys include a Mickey and Minnie Mouse handcar, a Donald Duck and Pluto handcar and two windup toys of Pluto and Donald made from composition rubber.

From Washington Times • Jul. 11, 2016

The train’s conductor, William A. Fuller, pursued the first on a handcar and then by commandeering another locomotive.

From Time • Jul. 3, 2013

Cora leaned into the pump of the handcar.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

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