Meanings
plural switchmen
- rail transportA person who operates railway switches that route trains onto rail tracks.
This route is repeated automatically on the control panel of the appropriate box as flashing indications covering the track circuits involved and the switchman obeys the instruction by setting up the required route.
1959 August, Flt. Lt. R. M. Williams, “The German Federal Railways today: 2. Modern signalling at Hanover”, in Trains Illustrated, page 387Synonyms: pointsman
- rail transportA person whose job is to help in the switching of railcars in a railway yard.
Synonyms: shunter, switcher, hostler, yard jockey
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA person who operates railway switches that route trains onto rail tracks.
nounA person whose job is to help in the switching of railcars in a railway yard.
Origin
- Middle Dutchswijchbor.?
- Englishswitch
- Proto-Indo-European*mon-
- Proto-Germanic*mann-
- Proto-West Germanic*mann
- Old Englishmann
- Middle Englishman
- Englishswitchman
Translations
Greek κλειδούχος
- κλειδούχος (kleidoúchos)railway switch operator
Polish zwrotniczy
- zwrotniczyrailway switch operator
Russian стре́лочник
- стре́лочник (stréločnik)railway switch operator
Cite this entry
switchman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/switchman
“switchman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/switchman. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “switchman,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/switchman.
Source: switchman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.