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Glite Dictionary
nonsmoking car

nonsmoking car

2.2
A train car where people may not smoke
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : vagón de no fumadores
  • Please move to the nonsmoking car if you do not wish to be around tobacco smoke.

Examples

  • The train conductor announced that the next carriage was a nonsmoking car.

  • I prefer to sit in a nonsmoking car.

  • Many express trains now have only nonsmoking cars available for passengers.

  • The train has both nonsmoking cars and smoking areas.

  • Many express trains now have only nonsmoking cars available for passengers.

  • Please move to the nonsmoking car if you do not wish to be around tobacco smoke.

  • The train conductor announced that the next carriage was a nonsmoking car.

Antonyms

smoking car
  • Archaic
6.0

A train car where people may light cigarettes

How Smoking-Friendly

smoking car
  • Archaic
6.0
nonsmoking car
  • US
2.2

Surface Forms

nonsmoking car singular
nonsmoking cars plural

Morphology

nonsmoking + car

The meaning 'a railway passenger car in which smoking is not permitted' is directly compositional from 'nonsmoking' (not allowing smoking) + 'car' (rail passenger carriage), so the overall sense is derivable from the parts. The negation + noun pattern (non-/no + activity + noun) is common across languages, making this immediately clear to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Nonsmoking car gives a clear image: a train car marked nonsmoking, where people are not allowed to smoke. So, it means 'a railway passenger car in which smoking is not permitted'.