Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

refrigerator car

American  

noun

  1. a freight car having either an ice chest or machinery for chilling perishables and sometimes having a heating unit to keep perishables from freezing.


Etymology

Origin of refrigerator car

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

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.

His body was brought home in a refrigerator car meant for oysters.

From New York Times • Feb. 18, 2018

He was born April 6, 1937, in Bakersfield in a converted refrigerator car less than 100 yards from a heavily used Southern Pacific railroad main line.

From Time Magazine Archive

Vladimir Dudin, 38, lives for days, sometimes weeks, at a time in a converted refrigerator car on a siding at the Suifenhe train station.

From Time Magazine Archive

In 1857 the first refrigerator car was attempted and in 1859 the first Pullman sleeping car introduced.

From Time Magazine Archive

One night we slept in a refrigerator car, where I felt as if icicles were forming on my spine.

From The Trail of '98 A Northland Romance by Service, Robert W. (Robert William)