hopper car

American

[hop-er kahr] / ˈhɒp ər ˌkɑr /

noun

Railroads.

a freight car, usually open at the top and containing one or more hoppers so that bulk cargo can be quickly discharged through its bottom.

Etymology

Origin of hopper 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:

hopper car

Instead, to the confusion of prophets, railroad stocks and most others fell like a load of corncobs dumped from a hopper car.

From Time Magazine Archive

Lupita glanced back over her shoulder at the hopper car with horror!

From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty

This time, he trots alongside a gray hopper car.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Would one of the railroad guards climb up to the hopper car, open the turret, and shine his light down inside the car?

From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty

There was a steel ladder on the side of the hopper car.

From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty

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