noun
locomotive
loh-kuh-MOH-tiv/ˌləʊkəˈməʊtɪv/
A powered rail vehicle that pulls trains.
A powerful locomotive pulls the freight train up the hill.
Etymology
The place and moving components first described movement from place to place, then the ability to move under one’s own power. The rail-vehicle noun is a shortening of “locomotive engine.”
In context
the ability for a locomotive to pull so much at one time all boils down to friction or the lack thereof
More examples
- The museum offers rides behind a restored steam locomotive.
- Two locomotives pull the long line of loaded cars.
- The engineer climbs into the locomotive's cab.
Forms
locomotive · locomotives
Similar words
- engine
- Can also mean a machine powering something other than trains.