train

[treyn] /treɪn/
noun
1.
Railroads. a self-propelled, connected group of rolling stock.
2.
a line or procession of persons, vehicles, animals, etc., traveling together.
3.
Military. an aggregation of vehicles, animals, and personnel accompanying an army to carry supplies, baggage, ammunition, etc.
4.
a series or row of objects or parts.
5.
Machinery. a connected set of three or more rotating elements, usually gears, through which force is transmitted, or motion or torque changed.
6.
order, especially proper order:
Matters were in good train.
7.
something that is drawn along; a trailing part.
8.
an elongated part of a skirt or robe trailing behind on the ground.
9.
a trail or stream of something from a moving object.
10.
a line or succession of persons or things following one after the other.
11.
a body of followers or attendants; retinue.
12.
a series of proceedings, events, ideas, etc.
13.
the series of results or circumstances following or proceeding from an event, action, etc.; aftermath:
Disease came in the train of war.
14.
a succession of connected ideas; a course of reasoning:
to lose one's train of thought.
15.
Astronomy.
  1. the trace of light created by a meteor falling through the earth's atmosphere.
  2. the tail of a comet.
16.
a line of combustible material, as gunpowder, for leading fire to an explosive charge.
17.
Physics. a succession of wave fronts, oscillations, or the like.
verb (used with object)
18.
to develop or form the habits, thoughts, or behavior of (a child or other person) by discipline and instruction:
to train an unruly boy.
19.
to make proficient by instruction and practice, as in some art, profession, or work:
to train soldiers.
20.
to make (a person) fit by proper exercise, diet, practice, etc., as for an athletic performance.
21.
to discipline and instruct (an animal), as in the performance of tasks or tricks.
22.
to treat or manipulate so as to bring into some desired form, position, direction, etc.:
to train one's hair to stay down.
23.
Horticulture. to bring (a plant, branch, etc.) into a particular shape or position, by bending, pruning, or the like.
24.
to bring to bear on some object; point, aim, or direct, as a firearm, camera, telescope, or eye.
25.
to entice; allure.
verb (used without object)
26.
to give the discipline and instruction, drill, practice, etc., designed to impart proficiency or efficiency.
27.
to undergo discipline and instruction, drill, etc.
28.
to get oneself into condition for an athletic performance through exercise, diet, practice, etc.
29.
to travel or go by train:
to train to New York.
Origin
1350-1400; (v.) late Middle English traynyn to pull or drag in the rear < Middle French trainer, Old French tra(h)iner < Vulgar Latin *tragīnāre, derivative of *tragīna something dragged or drawn (compare Medieval Latin tragīna carriage), derivative of *tragere to pull, for Latin trahere; (noun) Middle English train, traine < Old French tra(h)in (masculine) series of people, animals, or things, tra(h)ine (feminine) something dragged behind, both derivative of tra(h)iner
Related forms
trainless, adjective
half-trained, adjective
minitrain, noun
mistrain, verb
nontrained, adjective
overtrain, verb
pretrain, verb (used with object)
self-trained, adjective
semitrained, adjective
supertrain, verb
undertrain, verb (used with object)
undertrained, adjective
untrained, adjective
well-trained, adjective
Synonyms
3. convoy. 6. array, arrangement. 10. file, column. 19. exercise, drill, practice, school.
Synonym Study
18, 19. See teach.
Examples from the web for train
  • Walker plans to train dogs to detect prostate cancer in human urine later this year.
  • Could be that fast train is going somewhere after all.
  • These pigs are used for baying, which is how hunters train their dogs to bring the pigs down.
  • train as for a central leader, but stop upright growth, usually after two or three tiers of scaffold branches.
  • The military uses all sorts of games to train troops.
  • train stations have to be conveniently located and connected to local transit.
  • The animal species which has once been put into a train of motion, is still probably moving in that train.
  • If older plants become unmanageable, cut to ground before spring growth begins and train a few strong new stems.
  • The grants regulated by the law have been used more often to help people find jobs than to train them for new types of employment.
  • The train stations are typically centrally located in good neighborhoods.
British Dictionary definitions for train

train

/treɪn/
verb
1.
(transitive) to guide or teach (to do something), as by subjecting to various exercises or experiences: to train a man to fight
2.
(transitive) to control or guide towards a specific goal: to train a plant up a wall
3.
(intransitive) to do exercises and prepare for a specific purpose: the athlete trained for the Olympics
4.
(transitive) to improve or curb by subjecting to discipline: to train the mind
5.
(transitive) to focus or bring to bear (on something): to train a telescope on the moon
noun
6.
  1. a line of coaches or wagons coupled together and drawn by a railway locomotive
  2. (as modifier): a train ferry
7.
a sequence or series, as of events, thoughts, etc: a train of disasters
8.
a procession of people, vehicles, etc, travelling together, such as one carrying supplies of ammunition or equipment in support of a military operation
9.
a series of interacting parts through which motion is transmitted: a train of gears
10.
a fuse or line of gunpowder to an explosive charge, etc
11.
something drawn along, such as the long back section of a dress that trails along the floor behind the wearer
12.
a retinue or suite
13.
proper order or course
Derived Forms
trainable, adjective
trainless, adjective
Word Origin
C14: from Old French trahiner, from Vulgar Latin tragīnāre (unattested) to draw; related to Latin trahere to drag
Word Origin and History for train
n.

early 14c., "a drawing out, delay," later "trailing part of a skirt" (mid-15c.), also "retinue, procession" (mid-15c.), from Old French train (fem. traine), from trainer "to pull, draw," from Vulgar Latin *traginare, extended from *tragere "to pull," back-formation from tractus, past participle of Latin trahere "to pull, draw" (see tract (n.1)).

Train of thought first attested 1650s. The railroad sense is recorded from 1820 (publication year, dated 1816), from notion of a "train" of wagons or carriages pulled by a mechanical engine.

v.

"instruct, discipline, teach," 1540s, probably from earlier sense of "draw out and manipulate in order to bring to a desired form" (late 14c.), specifically of the growth of branches, vines, etc. from mid-15c.; from train (n.). The meaning "to travel by railway" is recorded from 1856. Related: Trained; training.

Slang definitions & phrases for train

train

noun

: popularly known as gang bangs or trains

verb

To do the sex act on a woman serially, man after man, in a gang; gangbang: announced that they were going to train her (1970s+)

Related Terms

the gravy train, on the gravy train, pull a train, ride the gravy train

[related to pull a train; perhaps influenced by earlier train, ''romp, carry on wildly'']


Idioms and Phrases with train

train

In addition to the idiom beginning with train also see: gravy train