whistle-stop

noun

A small train station.

“We've only got 30 minutes at the stadium, so I'll give you a whistle-stop tour.”

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Meanings

nounwhistle-stop (plural whistle-stops)

plural whistle-stops

  1. idiomaticA small train station.
  2. governmentA brief stop on a campaign tour to make a speech or perform some other type of public electioneering.
adjectivewhistle-stop (not comparable)
  1. idiomaticnot comparableExtremely brief and hurried.

    We've only got 30 minutes at the stadium, so I'll give you a whistle-stop tour.

verbwhistle-stop (third-person singular simple present whistle-stops, present participle whistle-stopping, simple past and past participle whistle-stopped)

present singular third person whistle-stops · participle present whistle-stopping · participle past whistle-stopped · past whistle-stopped

  1. intransitivegovernmentTo make a brief stop on a campaign tour to make a speech or perform some other type of public electioneering.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
flying visitway station

Origin

Named for the train whistle that is frequently blown before stopping in small towns.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish seisake, pikainen
  • seisakesmall train station
  • pikainenextremely brief
  • pika-extremely brief
Polish przystanek na żądanie, pospieszny
  • przystanek na żądaniesmall train station
  • pospiesznyextremely brief
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: whistle-stop on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.