switchman

[ swich-muhn ]

/ ˈswɪtʃ mən /

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noun, plural switch·men.

a person who has charge of a switch on a railroad.

a person who assists in moving cars in a railway yard or terminal.

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Origin of switchman

First recorded in 1835–45; switch + -man

Words nearby switchman

switchgear, switchgirl, switch grass, switch-hit, switch hitter, switchman, switch-off, switch-on, switchover, switch plate, switch plug

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

How to use switchman in a sentence

But what limit is set to a switchman's courage I have never known, because I've never known one to balk at a yardmaster's order.
The Daughter of a Magnate|Frank H. Spearman
He was a good switchman and more than ordinarily intelligent.
Prisons and Prayer: Or a Labor of Love|Elizabeth Ryder Wheaton
A railroad switchman who faces the company's president after saving a train from destruction might wear just that expression.
The Rest Hollow Mystery|Rebecca N. Porter
The next night he told me to keep the key till the old switchman came back on duty—so he must have had an extra one of his own.
Bart Stirling's Road to Success|Allen Chapman

He snatched a lantern from the hand of a bewildered switchman and stumbled again toward the overturned car.
The Promise|James B. Hendryx

British Dictionary definitions for switchman

switchman

/ (ˈswɪtʃmən) /

noun plural -men

US and Canadian a person who operates railway pointsAlso called (in Britain and certain other countries): pointsman

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