yardman

Y4A1R1D2M3A1N1
/ˈjɑɹdmən/

noun

A worker in a railyard.

RareScrabble 13

Meanings

nounyardman (plural yardmen)

plural yardmen

  1. A worker in any of several types of yard, as:
    1. UKhistoricalA farm worker assigned to the farmyard of a large farm, working at hostler duties (harnessing and hitching teams), loading and unloading wagons, feeding, and so on.
      1 more example

      I asked the grizzled rustic who appeared to be in sole occupation of the farm buildings, and who was, in fact, the yardman, if he knew whereabouts I should find the [hunting] party. He said something I did not understand, but I followed his pointing arm. […] The yardman, with his lantern, was helping to back ponies into traps. Motor-engines murmured. […]

      1930, Adrian Bell, Corduroy, Faber and Faber
    2. CanadaUSA laborer hired to do outdoor work.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gʰerdʰ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*gʰórdʰos
  3. Proto-Germanic*gardaz
  4. Proto-West Germanic*gard
  5. Old Englishġeard
  6. Middle Englishyerd
  7. Englishyard
  8. Englishyardman

From yard + -man.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

yardman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yardman

MLA

“yardman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yardman. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yardman,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yardman.

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