trainspotter

T1R1A1I1N1S1P3O1T1T1E1R1

noun

A person whose hobby is train spotting.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

nountrainspotter (plural trainspotters)

plural trainspotters

  1. A person whose hobby is train spotting.

    `So are you like one of those anorak wearing trainspotter types?'

    2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 2
    2 more examples

    Above all, I remember the noise and smell of the steam locomotives, and it was those journeys that turned me into a trainspotter, which meant that soon a pencil, notebook and the Ian Allan locospotter's guide became essential items for the trip.

    2021 July 28, Christian Wolmar, “Forgotten by the railways, but ripe for the exploring”, in RAIL, number 936, page 34

    “Unless you want to end up in the depot!” Then he looks at me more closely, suspecting a trainspotter in his midst. “Maybe, you do want to end up in the depot.”

    2025 May 31, Oliver Smith, “A night on the Riviera”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 6
  2. broadlyAn obsessive follower of any minority interest or hobby.

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 火車迷 /火车迷
  • 火車迷 /火车迷 (huǒchēmí)person whose hobby is train spotting
German Trainspotter
  • Trainspotterperson whose hobby is train spotting
Scottish Gaelic fear-amhairc thrèanaichean
  • fear-amhairc thrèanaicheanperson whose hobby is train spotting
Cite this entry
APA

trainspotter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/trainspotter

MLA

“trainspotter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/trainspotter. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “trainspotter,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/trainspotter.

Source: trainspotter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.