six foot
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.73 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
the area between the closest rails of two parallel standard gauge railway lines, regardless of the actual distance.
Colloquial; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Cattle are of course liable to stray on the line at these level crossings, but to prevent this, barriers are placed on each side of the crossing, and a deep trench is made in the four-foot and six-foot spaces, …"
- "Richardson dropped into the six-foot between the two engines, ran for a few yards, grabbed Mitchell's engine, and swung himself up. Mitchell had got to his feet by this time, but he made no move. Richardson shut off steam, reversed her, and brought her to a stand."
- "He fell wildly, his head struck the carriage footboard with tremdous force, and he bounded into the six-foot, where he rolled over and over …"
- "2007 September 5, Rail Accident Investigation Branch, Rail Accident Report 33/2007: Fatal collision between a Super Voyager train and a car on the line at Copmanthorpe 25 September 2006, Rail Accident Investigation Branch, Deptarment for Transport, Page 20 http://www.raib.gov.uk/cms_resources/070905_R332007_Copmanthorpe.pdf As a result, all three wheelsets derails to the six foot side."
Etymology
Usage
Inflected Forms
6-foot (alternative)
six-foot (alternative)