wagon-lit
Americannoun
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wagons-lits
plural
noun
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a sleeping car on a European railway
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a compartment on such a car
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of wagon-lit
First recorded in 1880–85; from French, equivalent to wagon “railway coach” (from English ) + lit “bed” (from Latin lectus )
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.
See Examples For:
"The British have a wagon-lit to ourselves with all possible conveniences: there are several other wagon-lits and a dining saloon," he wrote.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2018
In my first-class wagon-lit compartment, the washbasin was dirty.
From Time Magazine Archive
Soon she would be gone, rattling alone in the wagon-lit without me, and he and I would be together in the dining-room of the hotel, lunching at the same table, planning the future.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
I dragged myself back from Christmas at Manderley to the realities of the wagon-lit.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
At this moment the little horn of departure sounded its quaint note from the end of the platform, and a porter hurried to lock the door of the wagon-lit.
From Swirling Waters by Max Rittenberg
Its eleven wagons-lits, three restaurant cars and bar car, all first class, can accommodate 194 passengers; there are two cars for the crew of 30.
From Time Magazine Archive
During the trip Carol neglected to shave before the ingenious folding washstand provided in the individual compartments of all wagons-lits.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Czechoslovaks remained parked in the depot all night, the windows of their wagons-lits glowing during long strategy sessions.
From Time Magazine Archive
In a latched compartment of the wagons-lits rode an elderly intriguer, Prince Barbu Stirbey of Rumania, and his elegant daughter, Princess Elise, wife of a British major.
From Time Magazine Archive
La bonne compagnie they found in the lounges of great hotels, on transatlantic liners, in wagons-lits, in music-halls, and in expensive motor-cars and restaurants.
From Since Cézanne by Clive Bell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
