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train

train

110 1.3
A line of people, animals, or vehicles moving together
  • noun
  • /treɪn/
translation icon : procesión (personas)
  • In the museum, the artist displayed a stunning train of intricate sculptures that captivated visitors.
  • a train of thought
  • a train of events
  • a wagon train

That way we could have a whole trains of imaginations together, right?

Examples

  • I rather lost the train of the conversation.

  • The look of surprise on his face became clearer as the train brought him up to us.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Too many children are packed into trains and sent to the other side of the country.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • A government supply train on its way to Chancellor Sutler.

  • One of my earliest memories is walking down the aisle on the train while the whole company was playing cards and drinking and joking.

  • Over the years, the trains and tunnels were used in various imaginative ways.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Brooke presumably felt relieved, then, to be boarding the train for the West Coast.

    Academic text (2013)
  • At the wedding, the bride walked down the aisle with a long train trailing behind her.

  • The parade featured a colorful train of floats celebrating the town's history.

Synonyms

string
vstrain
219 2.7

A sequence of numbers or letters in order

is either a physical line of people and vehicles or an abstract connected series
caravan
vstrain
84 4.1

A group of people who travel together with animals or vehicles for safety across a desert

is a general line or series not limited to travel or danger
procession
vstrain
54 4.1

A line of people or vehicles moving slowly in a ceremony

is any line or series not only used for formal movement
wagon train
vstrain
  • US
7 3.8

A line of wagons that travel together for safety on long journeys

is the broader term for any line or connected series not only vehicle lines

Compounds

69 1.0

A place where trains stop for people and goods to get on and off

20 2.8

A long train that carries goods instead of people

train of thought
  • Informal
17 3.6

A set of ideas that follow each other in your mind

A train that carries people who travel regularly between home and work or school in a city

gravy train
  • Informal
9 6.9

A situation where someone gets a lot of money for little work

9 1.0

A paper or digital pass that lets you travel on a train

A train that carries people, not goods

7 2.1

A train that runs under a city to carry people

7 3.8

A line of wagons that travel together for safety on long journeys

5 2.8

A very fast passenger train that runs on special tracks like those in Japan

3 3.1

A place where trains stop to load people or goods

2 1.6

Money you pay to travel by train

1 1.8

A long line of connected cars that runs on tracks and carries people or goods

1 1.2

A toy with small trains and tracks to play with

1 4.5

A train that carries people and their cars

mail train
  • Archaic
1 2.6

A train that carries letters and packages for the post

1 2.5

A train that stops at many stations and takes a long time

milk train
  • Archaic
1 6.5

A train that carries fresh milk from farms to cities

hype train
  • Slang
1 6.0

A fast rise in excitement among many people about a new product or event, often driven online

power train
  • Specialized
1 5.1

Connected gears and parts that send power from a vehicle's engine or motor to its wheels

train set
  • Specialized
1 4.2

A group of example data used to teach a computer program

wave train
  • Specialized
1 7.3

A group of similar waves that follow each other at regular times

4.8

A train that takes people to a port to catch a ship

epicyclic gear train
  • Specialized
6.5

A set of gears where one gear moves around a central gear while spinning to change speed or force

epicyclic train
  • Specialized
9.9

A set of gears where one gear turns around another fixed gear in a gearbox

liner train
  • Specialized
5.6

A fast train that carries goods over long distances between factories and seaports and loads quickly

hospital train
  • Specialized
4.0

A train equipped with beds and doctors to carry and treat sick or wounded people

parly train
  • Archaic
9.9

A cheap train that runs only a few times to meet old laws and keep a line open

A person who directs trains and controls their movement on railway tracks

train oil
  • Archaic
9.9

An oil made from whale fat used long ago for lamps and soap

How Long

train
110 1.3
trail
231 1.4
tail
421 1.0
stub
9 3.7
nub
12 6.9

Surface Forms

train singular
trains plural

Etymology

Train for a line or procession comes from the same idea of things that 'trail' or follow because they are 'pulled' in a row, so a camel or wagon train is a long group that moves together.