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Glite Dictionary
club car

club car

3 4.9
A train carriage with a bar and seats for people to relax and talk
  • noun
  • /klʌb kɑr/
  • US
translation icon : vagón club
  • And the writers were in the club car dealing out a hand of bridge, and they were fanning out their cards.

And the writers were in the club car dealing out a hand of bridge, and they were fanning out their cards.

Examples

  • While traveling, we spent most of our time in the club car, enjoying drinks and conversation.

  • I'll go to the club car to get you something to eat.

    Narrow Margin (1990)

  • I'll be in the club car.

    The Narrow Margin (1952)

  • I make my way to the club car and buy a box of peanut M&M's and a Coke.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • About nine o'clock, we went up to the club car, a little snack bar, and bought some Scotch eggs.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • I got out of my seat and saved it with my duffel, tucked the book into my back pocket, and walked toward the club car, fuming.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Passengers can unwind in the club car, which features comfortable seating and a full bar.

  • During the long journey, we took a break in the club car to socialize and relax with other travelers.

Synonyms

lounge car
vsclub car
  • US
1 5.5

A train car with seats, a bar, and tables for passengers to relax and talk

is the exact same space but is the alternate common label used
parlor car
vsclub car
  • Archaic
7.7

A train car that has comfortable separate seats and costs extra

focuses on shared social space with a bar and relaxed seating rather than individual seats
drawing-room car
vsclub car
  • Archaic
9.2

A passenger train car with private seats that costs extra

prioritizes a shared social area with tables and a bar rather than individual chairs
palace car
vsclub car
  • Archaic
9.1

A very comfortable train car with individual seats that costs extra

focuses on shared social space with bar and relaxed seating rather than luxury individual seats

How Comfortable

palace car
  • Archaic
9.1
sleeper
4 4.4
club car
  • US
3 4.9
coach
75 1.3

Surface Forms

club car singular
club cars plural

Morphology

club + car

The meaning is directly compositional: 'club' (a social venue/association) + 'car' (railroad vehicle) yields a car intended for socializing, matching a common noun-noun compounding pattern in English. This sense is predictable from the constituents and parallels terms in many languages (e.g., lounge/coche-bar), so a B1 learner who knows both words should infer the meaning.

Etymology

Club car comes from trains where a special car was set up like a private club with a bar, tables and comfortable chairs. So the term means the train carriage where people go to 'socialize' and 'relax'.