brakeman

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: a railway worker responsible for operating a train's brakes and assisting with couplings and switching

   The brakeman climbed between the cars to inspect the coupling.

2. 2
   noun

   the member of a bobsleigh team who applies the brake after the finish

   The brakeman pulled the lever as the bobsleigh crossed the line.

3. 3
   noun

   historical: a worker who operated winding or lifting machinery at a mine

   The brakeman controlled the engine that raised coal from the shaft.

A compound of brake + man. The railway occupation arose when individual cars had manually operated brakes; the same transparent formation was later used for machinery operators and the braking member of a bobsleigh crew. The irregular plural is brakemen.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images