locomotive

[ loh-kuh-moh-tiv ]

/ ˌloʊ kəˈmoʊ tɪv /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR locomotive ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a self-propelled, vehicular engine, powered by steam, a diesel, or electricity, for pulling or, sometimes, pushing a train or individual railroad cars.

an organized group cheer, usually led by a cheerleader, as at a football or basketball game, that begins slowly and progressively increases in speed in such a way as to suggest a steam locomotive.

Archaic. any self-propelled vehicle.

adjective

of or relating to locomotives.

of, relating to, or aiding in locomotion or movement from place to place: the locomotive powers of most animals.

moving or traveling by means of its own mechanism or powers.

serving to produce such movement; adapted for or used in locomotion: locomotive organs.

having the power of locomotion: an animal that is locomotive at birth.

RELATED WORDS

engine, diesel

Nearby words

locoism, locoman, locomobile, locomote, locomotion, locomotive, locomotive engineer, locomotor, locomotor ataxia, locoweed, locrian

Origin of locomotive

1605–15; < Latin locō, ablative of locus place + motive (adj.); compare Medieval Latin in locō movērī to change position

Related formslo·co·mo·tive·ly, adverblo·co·mo·tive·ness, lo·co·mo·tiv·i·ty, nounun·lo·co·mo·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for locomotive

When it was first introduced some 170 years ago, the locomotive ran on a domestic fuel source.
Diesel Trains May Soon Use Natural Gas Instead|The Daily Beast|May 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His torso was nude and his legs had been amputated by the locomotive engine.
Rome’s Deadly Pub Crawls Kill American College Student|Barbie Latza Nadeau|March 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Another time, I was shooting a locomotive and it blew up, and some of the stuff got in my air scoop, but I managed to fly it back.
Dr. Roscoe Brown, A Real-Life Tuskegee Airman, Tells His ‘Red Tails’ Story|Marlow Stern|January 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
When a tiger attacks a zookeeper, it is "making a noise like a locomotive."
Great Weekend Reads|The Daily Beast|March 13, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Coal is really stored-up sunlight and the locomotive, devouring it, is devouring sunlight.
Insect Adventures|J. Henri Fabre
In this locomotive the gear is the same as that of the next illustration, but it is securely boxed in a watertight iron cover.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 1157, March 5, 1898|Various
I don't know how long I had been asleep, but what made me wake up was the whistle of a locomotive.
Roy Blakeley's Camp on Wheels|Percy Keese Fitzhugh
If the brake cylinder pipe breaks, can the locomotive brake be applied with the automatic brake valve?
The Traveling Engineers' Association|Anonymous
Off to the right of them windows showed lights; the clang of a locomotive bell came to them as from a great distance.
Truxton King|George Barr McCutcheon

British Dictionary definitions for locomotive

locomotive

/ (ˌləʊkəˈməʊtɪv) /

noun

Also called: locomotive engine a self-propelled engine driven by steam, electricity, or diesel power and used for drawing trains along railway tracks
(as modifier)a locomotive shed; a locomotive works

adjective

of or relating to locomotion

moving or able to move, as by self-propulsion

Derived Formslocomotively, adverblocomotiveness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for locomotive

locomotive

adj.

1610s, "pertaining to movement," from French locomotif, from Latin loco "from a place" (ablative of locus "place;" see locus) + Late Latin motivus "moving" (see motive). The noun meaning "railroad engine" is from 1829, short for locomotive engine (1814).