locomotive

[ loh-kuh-moh-tiv ]

/ ˌloʊ kəˈmoʊ tɪv /

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See 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.

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Origin of locomotive

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

OTHER WORDS FROM locomotive

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

Words nearby locomotive

locoism, locoman, locomobile, locomote, locomotion, locomotive, locomotive engineer, locomotor, locomotor ataxia, loco primo citato, loco supra citato

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use locomotive in a sentence

The other locomotives, which looked like cubes, did not have such a shape.
The train that shrunk France… and Europe|Ars Contributors|September 27, 2021|Ars Technica
Now, a fruitful combination of computational biomechanics and so-called “predictive simulation” are helping fill in these locomotive knowledge gaps.
Two-legged dinosaurs wagged their tails like giant, scaly puppies|Hannah Seo|September 23, 2021|Popular-Science
I felt like a locomotive storming down the valley, fast because I was confident, confident because I was secure.
An Ode to Skinny Skis|Dan Schwartz|March 5, 2021|Outside Online
Because of restrictions on locomotives in the city, the cars at President Street had to be pulled by horses many blocks around the Inner Harbor to the Camden Street Station.
Lincoln’s first inauguration met with threats of kidnapping, killing and militias|Michael Ruane|January 15, 2021|Washington Post

There they were attached to locomotives that took them south to Washington.
Lincoln’s first inauguration met with threats of kidnapping, killing and militias|Michael Ruane|January 15, 2021|Washington Post
GE claims that retrofitting can “reduce locomotive fuel costs by up to 50 %.”
Diesel Trains May Soon Use Natural Gas Instead|The Daily Beast|May 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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
The big, filthy blue locomotive squeals and labors along the rails.
‘Stupid Enough to Pay’: Tim Parks’s Italian Rail Adventures|Tim Parks|June 23, 2013|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
The steamboat of 1809 and the steam locomotive of 1830 were the direct result of what had gone before.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
The south tunnel in New Street was blocked April 18, 1877, by a locomotive turning over.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
Now for the second time the old man and the locomotive regarded each other.
A Lost Hero|Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward and Herbert D. Ward
In the innermost, Atock, our locomotive engineer, and I chummed together.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
In others the arms may have been the chief locomotive organs and the feet have given steadiness.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris

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 forms of locomotive

locomotively, 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

locomotive

Origin of locomotive

OTHER WORDS FROM locomotive

Words nearby locomotive

Words related to locomotive

How to use locomotive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for locomotive

Derived forms of locomotive