gripman

noun

grip·​man ˈgrip-mən How to pronounce gripman (audio)
-ˌman
: a cable car operator

Examples of gripman in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web What is the hardest thing about training to be a cable car gripman? Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Sep. 2022 The job of a gripman involves operating 148-year-old technology on busy city streets while managing a load of passengers. Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Sep. 2021 From Heather Knight: Beloved S.F. cable car gripman takes last bell-ringing trip after nearly 40 years riding city’s hills. Kellie Hwang, San Francisco Chronicle, 27 Sep. 2021 Fred Butler, a former gripman who’s now the assistant division manager for the cable cars, said just 20% of trainees pass the test to become employees. Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Sep. 2021 The actor, writer and director worked as a cable car gripman in San Francisco, which was the subject of his first book The Big Heart. Alexia Fernández, PEOPLE.com, 22 Sep. 2021 And Jesus Vargas worked as the gripman at the front, handling the device that clutches the cable under the street that pulls the little car halfway to the stars at 9 miles an hour. Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 Aug. 2021 Val Lupiz, another gripman, said the buzz around the cable car barn is that another cable car could be rolled out and parked for visitors at the Beach and Hyde streets turntable if the Powell Street photo opp is a success. Michael Cabanatuan, SFChronicle.com, 26 Sep. 2020 But gripmen and conductors soon realized its musical potential, and the bell-ringing contest began more than a half-century ago. Heather Knight, SFChronicle.com, 3 Dec. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gripman.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gripman was in 1886

Dictionary Entries Near gripman

Cite this Entry

“Gripman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gripman. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.

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