gondola car
- noun
- /ˈɡɒndələ kɑr/
- Specialized
:
vagón de góndola
- Loaded with clay, the gondola car rattled down the tracks towards the factory.
Examples
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Farmers often rely on a gondola car to move large quantities of produce to the market.
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Due to its open design, a gondola car is ideal for hauling coal and gravel.
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Rainwater collected in the empty gondola car after last night's storm.
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The company loaded scrap metal into the gondola car at the rail yard.
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The gondola car was loaded with gravel.
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Many gondola cars transport coal across the country.
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The construction crew used a gondola car to transport gravel to the site.
Synonyms
1
2.3
A vehicle that runs on tracks and carries people or goods
1
6.2
An open-top train car with low sides and no roof for carrying loose materials
How Open
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'gondola' (an open-top railroad car for bulk materials) combined with 'car' (a rail vehicle) yields a specific type of rail freight car. Although somewhat technical, the noun–noun compound follows standard English formation and a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Gondola car comes from the word gondola, a long, low boat from Venice. Because the rail car is low and open like that boat, people called it a gondola car, meaning 'an open freight car for bulk goods'.