boxcar

boxcar — noun

1. an enclosed rail vehicle for cargo, usually with large doors at the side for loa

1.nounC2
Definition

an enclosed rail vehicle for cargo, usually with large doors at the side for loading and unloading.

Example

Workers loaded sacks of rice into the last boxcar before sunset.

boxcar as cargo vehicle on a freight train

A red boxcar stood beside the grain store all morning.

before noun: color + boxcar

Common collocations
  • load a boxcar
  • unload a boxcar
  • boxcar door
  • string of boxcars
Synonyms
  • freight car

    broader American term for a train car that carries goods

  • railcar

    broader term; can refer to several kinds of train cars

  • goods wagon

    mainly British term

Antonyms

Usage Note

Common in North American rail contexts. In wider everyday English, speakers may more often say 'freight car' or, in British English, 'goods wagon'.

Common Mistakes

We slept in a boxcar on the passenger train.
We slept in a passenger car on the train.
a boxcar is for freight, not for carrying ordinary passengers.

boxcar — adjective

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Boxcar', 'freight car', 'railcar', and 'goods wagon' are close, but they are not exact matches. 'Freight car' is the broad American term for any train car used to move goods. 'Boxcar' is narrower: it means a closed freight car with side doors, so it contrasts with open cars or tank cars. 'Railcar' is wider still and can also refer to other kinds of railway vehicles, so it is less exact when you mean this specific cargo car. 'Goods wagon' is the usual British term, especially in rail writing. If sacks are stored inside a covered cargo car, 'boxcar' fits best; if you mean cargo vehicles in general, 'freight cars' is safer.

boxcar ↗freight carrailcargoods wagon

Etymology

English

'Boxcar' is a native English compound: 'box' points to the vehicle's enclosed, box-like shape, and 'car' names the railway vehicle. The noun appeared in nineteenth-century North American rail use for a covered freight car. Later, English developed an adjective sense meaning 'very large' or 'very high', probably from the big numbers painted on the sides of boxcars.