noun
cowcatcher
Cowcatcher (noun) means a wedge-shaped guard fitted to the front of a train to push obstacles off the track and prevent it coming off the rails.
noun
1
A wedge-shaped guard fitted to the front of a train to push obstacles off the track and prevent it coming off the rails.
"The locomotive was black, an ungainly contraption led by the triangular snout of the cowcatcher, though there would be few animals where this engine was headed."
— Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad (2016)
"It was a rural railway that served the fertile Fens of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. But because it flanked public roads and was unfenced (to save costs), it was deemed a tramway and its locomotives had to be fitted with a cowcatcher."
— Richard Foster, British Rail's weirdest railways...: Wisbech & Upwell Tramway (2023)
2
An advert shown right at the beginning of a broadcast.
"Sometime in the mid-40s, the Hummerts canceled Mr. Keen and Easy Aces from their early evening periods on CBS, which also killed my cowcatchers and hitchhikes."
— George Ansbro, I Have a Lady in the Balcony (2009)
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Etymology
Formed from cow and catcher.
Synonyms
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Rhymes for cowcatcher
See all rhymes for cowcatcher →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of cowcatcher?
"cowcatcher" (noun) means a wedge-shaped guard fitted to the front of a train to push obstacles off the track and prevent it coming off the rails.
What is another word for cowcatcher?
Other words for "cowcatcher" include buffer, fender, pilot.
What are the different meanings of cowcatcher?
"cowcatcher" has 2 main meanings: 1. A wedge-shaped guard fitted to the front of a train to push obstacles off the track and prevent it coming off the rails; 2. An advert shown right at the beginning of a broadcast.
