freight car
The standard American English term for a railway wagon used to carry goods — what British English calls a 'goods wagon' or 'goods van.' Freight cars are the workhorses of American freight rail, covering the continental US in enormous trains.
Definitions
The standard American English term for a railway wagon used to carry goods — what British English calls a 'goods wagon' or 'goods van.' Freight cars are the workhorses of American freight rail, covering the continental US in enormous trains. The term is entirely standard in North American railroading vocabulary.
The whole freight car smelled of grain that had been sitting in the heat for days.
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(US) A railway wagon for carrying goods.
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- goods wagon86%
The British English term for a railway freight car — the kind of wagon you see rolling through rail yards loaded with containers, coal, or industrial cargo. While Americans say 'freight car' or 'boxcar', the British have always called it a goods wagon, keeping the terminology clearly linked to its purpose: moving goods. The term is everyday and practical, appearing in railway timetables, logistics documentation, and the vocabulary of train spotters everywhere. No glamour, just cargo doing its thing.
- railroad car86%
The standard American English term for any railway vehicle used to carry passengers or freight — equivalent to the British carriage or wagon. The term covers passenger cars, freight cars, tank cars, and so on. A basic vocabulary item in US railway and transportation contexts.
- goods wagon83%
(UK) A railway wagon for carrying freight.
- goods van78%
(rail, British) An enclosed railway freight car, especially one with a sliding door.