Pullman

¹ American  

[pool-muhn] / ˈpʊl mən /

Trademark.

• Pullmans
  plural

1. a railroad sleeping car or parlor car.

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noun

• Pullmans
  plural

1. Also called Pullman case. (often lowercase) a large suitcase.

2. George Mortimer, 1831–97, U.S. inventor and railroad car designer.

Pullman ² American  

[pool-muhn] / ˈpʊl mən /

noun

1. a city in SE Washington.

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Pullman ¹ British  

/ ˈpʊlmən /

noun

1. Also called: Pullman car. a luxurious railway coach, esp a sleeping car

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Pullman ² British  

/ ˈpʃulmən /

noun

1. Philip . born 1946, British author. Writing primarily for older children, he is best known for the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials (1997–2000)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Pullmans
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of Pullman

C19: named after George M. Pullman (1831–97), the US inventor who first manufactured such coaches

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Pullman Pullmans

After 150,000 union members across the country refused to handle any Pullman railcars on any railroad, the U.S. transportation system collapsed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

“And I just love the ensemble,” which includes fellow veteran actors Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters and Bill Pullman.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

Innovators and entrepreneurs such as Ford and George Pullman, discussed on visits to Detroit and Chicago, respectively, figure mainly as exploiters of the working class.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

To maintain a meritocracy, a business must hold on to key employees, says Pullman & Comley, a law firm based in Connecticut.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 10, 2026

They saw the Pullman Company’s “Ideal of Industry” exhibit, with its detailed model of Pullman’s company town, which the company extolled as a workers’ paradise.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

“We’d sing anywhere, on Pullmans, buses, the clubhouse,” he said in 1998.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 5, 2021

I think that's true in the Pullmans almost you know it's an acting that you know I love a poem that enacts what it doesn't describe.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 17, 2018

In the up-to-date habit of Transatlantic, Union Depot and Grand Hotel, they are all inhabiting a train of luxurious Pullmans bound from Peiping to Shanghai.

From Time Magazine Archive

At Government urging, Pullmans are being converted to coaches, which hold more passengers.

From Time Magazine Archive

And Mom, like she always does, dropped whatever she was doing to go help the Pullmans.

From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio

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