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Glite Dictionary
switchyard

switchyard

5.4
A place where train cars or electric circuits are moved and connected
  • noun
  • /ˈswɪtʃˌjɑrd/
  • US
translation icon : plataforma de clasificación
  • After the train was unloaded, it was taken to the switchyard for sorting and maintenance.

Examples

  • Instruments were damaged beyond repair, and switches, switchyard insulators, cables, and copper bus work were rendered unusable.

    Blog text (9)

  • Switchyard director at the Moscow Trust of the Flour and Groats Industry, where he stole wholesale by the boxcar.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The trains were organized efficiently at the switchyard before departing for their destinations.

  • Engineers monitored the electrical circuits closely in the busy switchyard to prevent outages.

Synonyms

railyard
vsswitchyard
  • Specialized
4 6.5

An area with many train tracks where train cars are kept and repaired

is broader, covering both train operations and electrical switching

Surface Forms

switchyard singular
switchyards plural

Morphology

switchyard = switch + yard (transparent) = switch + yard

The meaning is directly interpretable as a place ('yard') where switching operations occur, so a learner who knows 'switch' and 'yard' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Switchyard is a compound of switch and yard. A switch means 'to change' (like a light switch or a track switch) and a yard means 'open area' where things are kept, so a switchyard is the open area where trains or electrical circuits are 'changed', sorted, or organized.