cattle car

noun

1. Railroads. stock car ( def 2 ).
2. Slang. a railroad passenger car providing little comfort and few amenities.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cattle car¹

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

Example Sentences

The Jewish girl and her family were first imprisoned in a ghetto on the outskirts of town and later forced onto a cattle car that took them to the Pechora concentration camp in 1941.

From Washington Times

This time I walked to the railroad bridge, and I saw the cattle cars, the throngs of people, the dogs.

From Literature

“When you get in a cattle car, you don’t really know what’s going to happen to you,” Ron said.

From Washington Post

In the documentary, he recalled a happy childhood until he and his family were forced from their Paris apartment and put into a crowded cattle car that carried them to concentration camps.

From Washington Post

In the documentary, Clary recalled a happy childhood until he and his family was forced from their Paris apartment and put into a crowded cattle car that carried them to concentration camps.

From Seattle Times