handcar

noun

hand·​car ˈhan(d)-ˌkär How to pronounce handcar (audio)
: a small four-wheeled railroad car propelled by a hand-operated mechanism or by a small motor

Examples of handcar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The case has rolled along at a handcar pace through four years’ worth of filings, motions, hearings, rulings and depositions of both Grant and Trump. Sean Piccoli, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2024 The train's conductor chased them, first on foot and later by handcar for 87 miles, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Jessie Balmert, The Enquirer, 3 July 2024 Huff and Puff was a toddler-sized rail handcar ride that opened with Camp Snoopy in 1983. Robert Niles, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024 Naperville’s progress from the days of the handcar moving through the prairie to the age of the steam engine train. Suzanne Baker, chicagotribune.com, 9 Oct. 2021 The diplomats pushed the handcar for over a mile to get it across the border. Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 26 Feb. 2021 The group of eight embassy staff and members of their families, including children, first took a 32-hour train ride and then a bus to reach the border area, the ministry said, where the handcar was readied and mounted on to the tracks. Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 26 Feb. 2021 This column picks up the story after the thieves abandoned a railroad handcar used to escape from New Windsor and joined an accomplice waiting in Westminster with a horse and carriage for the rest of the getaway. Mary Ann Ashcraft, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 24 Oct. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of handcar was in 1833

Dictionary Entries Near handcar

Cite this Entry

“Handcar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/handcar. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

handcar

noun
hand·​car ˈhan(d)-ˌkär How to pronounce handcar (audio)
: a small railroad car powered by a hand-operated device or by a small motor
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