switchyard

[ swich-yahrd ]

/ ˈswɪtʃˌyɑrd /

Save This Word!

noun

a railroad yard in which rolling stock is distributed or made up into trains.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of switchyard

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; switch + yard²

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

How to use switchyard in a sentence

At the bank above the switch-yard he paused, keeping in a shadow, and looked here and there.
Philo Gubb Correspondence-School Detective|Ellis Parker Butler
Snorky proudly brought forth a diagram which to Skippy's bewildered gaze looked like the cross section of a switch yard.
Skippy Bedelle|Owen Johnson
Thank Gawd, there was a back door openin' on a dark alley leadin' to the switch yard.
Excuse Me!|Rupert Hughes
Just at the intersection of Bean Alley and the switch-yard, where the dusk banked up densely in the corners, he stopped again.
A Romance of Billy-Goat Hill|Alice Hegan Rice

With watchful eyes for passers-by, he slipped through an opening in the fence, and entered the switch-yard.
A Romance of Billy-Goat Hill|Alice Hegan Rice

British Dictionary definitions for switchyard

switch yard

noun

US and Canadian an area in a railway system where rolling stock is shunted, as in forming trains

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