coal-car
Definition
- Noun:
- A railway car designed for transporting coal: "coal-car" refers to a specialized railroad car used to carry coal, typically from mines to processing plants or distribution points.
- A mine cart for coal: In mining contexts, "coal-car" can also denote a small, open-topped cart used to haul coal within a mine.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- The train consisted of twenty coal-cars loaded with anthracite. (A railway car carrying coal.)
- Miners pushed the empty coal-car back into the tunnel. (A mine cart for coal.)
Advanced Usage
- "coal-car" as a compound term: While "coal-car" is a single word, it is often used interchangeably with "coal car" (two words) in informal writing. In technical contexts, it may refer specifically to a hopper car or gondola car designed for coal.
- The new coal-car design increased unloading efficiency by 30%. (A specialized railroad car for coal.)
Variants and Related Words
- Coal (n): a combustible black or dark brown rock used as fuel.
- The coal was extracted from the deep mine. (The fuel source.)
- Car (n): a vehicle for transporting goods or people on a railway.
- Each car on the freight train carried a different cargo. (A railway vehicle.)
- Coal mine (n): a place where coal is dug out of the ground.
- The coal mine employed hundreds of workers. (A coal extraction site.)
Synonyms
- Hopper car: a type of railroad car with doors that open to unload coal or other bulk materials.
- Gondola car: a open-top railway car for carrying bulk materials like coal.
- Mine cart: a small wagon used in mines for transporting ore or coal.
Related Idioms
- Carry coals to Newcastle: to take something to a place where it is already abundant (not directly related to "coal-car" but shares the word "coal").
- Selling ice to Eskimos is like carrying coals to Newcastle. (A pointless or redundant action.)
- Haul over the coals: to reprimand someone severely (an idiom using "coal").
- The manager hauled the employee over the coals for the mistake. (Scolded harshly.)