locomotive
adjective
lo·co·mo·tive
| \ ˌlō-kə-ˈmō-tiv
\
\
Definition of locomotive
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: locomotory
2
: of or relating to travel
3
: of, relating to, or being a machine that moves about by operation of its own mechanism
locomotive
nounDefinition of locomotive (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: a self-propelled vehicle that runs on rails and is used for moving railroad cars
2
: a school or college cheer characterized by a slow beginning and a progressive increase in speed
Examples of locomotive in a Sentence
Adjective
the locomotive ability of spidersRecent Examples on the Web: Adjective
And there is also that familiar Baltimore sound, a long, mournful locomotive whistle, a sound that travels for miles. — Jacques Kelly, baltimoresun.com, "Shrouded in darkness, Baltimore’s Howard Street Tunnel is a workhorse rail artery," 27 July 2019 Eventually and quite amusingly the women are revealed to have locomotive assistance from two nude men, who mostly serve as their legs, which appear from beneath their long skirts. — Robert Greskovic, WSJ, "A Company’s Classics Take the Stage," 17 June 2019 Passengers watched — and shot video with their phones — as flames erupted from the locomotive stack of an MBTA commuter rail train in Canton Thursday night. — Emily Sweeney, BostonGlobe.com, "Commuter rail passengers watch as flames erupt from locomotive; Keolis apologizes," 26 July 2019 More than a thousand workers went on strike Tuesday at a former General Electric Co. locomotive plant in Erie, Pa., a day after the operation was acquired by rival Wabtec Corp. — Thomas Gryta, WSJ, "GE Transportation Workers Go on Strike Under New Owner," 26 Feb. 2019 General Electric's railroad locomotive plant in Fort Worth is on a roll. — Gordon Dickson, star-telegram, "GE gets yet another big order for railroad locomotives at its Fort Worth plant," 21 June 2018 An 80-year-old former locomotive parts warehouse in the Netherlands is being converted into a high-tech library. — Jennifer Smith, WSJ, "Today’s Logistics Report: Shrinking Japan’s Fleet; Squeezing the Grocers; Highway Dividing Lines," 8 Mar. 2019 NJ Transit has taken steps to address these issues by recruiting and training additional locomotive engineers. — Lukas Mikelionis, Fox News, "Dem governor flees to $7M Italian vacation home as political, personal problems mount," 1 Aug. 2018 The company’s decision to spin off health care and separate Baker Hughes comes a month after Mr. Flannery agreed to leave the railroad locomotive business in an $11 billion deal. — Thomas Gryta, WSJ, "GE Narrows Focus to Power, Aviation in Latest Revamp," 26 June 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
But Spain and other fast-growing countries like Denmark and Finland are not big enough to replace Germany as Europe’s economic locomotive. — Jack Ewing, New York Times, "Germany Has Powered Europe’s Economy. What Happens When Its Engine Stalls?," 16 Aug. 2019 For its part, the railway has purchased two diesel-powered locomotives with less chance of causing fires and is making improvements to its tracks. — David Kelly, Los Angeles Times, "After a wildfire, a Colorado town’s residents reluctantly sue a historic railway," 7 Aug. 2019 Three locomotives at the front were all on track as well when the train stopped. — courant.com, "Freight train derails in Bristol, dumping tons of debris," 10 July 2019 In each of the crawler’s bowels are two main engines of the size found in locomotives or ships. — Kevin Spear, orlandosentinel.com, "Before Apollo moon rockets went 24,000 mph, they traveled less than 1 mph on crawler to launch pad," 29 June 2019 One other person, a train conductor, was also in the locomotive at the time of the crash. — Rick Anderson, latimes.com, "Engineer in fatal Washington Amtrak crash says he didn't notice sign warning of excessive speed," 26 Jan. 2018 Goals are the engine of the locomotive of looking hot. — Sam Saulsbury, The New Yorker, "New Slogans for Athleisure Brands," 30 July 2019 In the future, Caltrain would trade its diesel-belching locomotives for electric cars, with 10-car trains arriving at stations every 7½ minutes. — Rachel Swan, SFChronicle.com, "Caltrain maps out big growth and how to pay the $25 billion tab," 22 July 2019 In recessions, deficit spending and low interest rates rekindle the fire in the American locomotive. — al.com, "No one in Washington cares about the debt. Did they ever?," 9 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'locomotive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for locomotive
locomotive
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of locomotive
(Entry 1 of 2)
technical
: of or relating to movement from place to place : of or relating to locomotion
locomotive
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of locomotive (Entry 2 of 2)
: the vehicle that produces the power that pulls a train
See the full definition for locomotive in the English Language Learners Dictionary
locomotive
noun
lo·co·mo·tive
| \ ˌlō-kə-ˈmō-tiv
\
\
Kids Definition of locomotive
: a vehicle that moves under its own power and is used to haul cars on a railroad
locomotive
adjective
lo·co·mo·tive
| \ ˌlō-kə-ˈmōt-iv
\
\
Medical Definition of locomotive
: locomotor sense 1
locomotive organs include flagella, cilia, pseudopodia, and limbs
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