Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

water trough

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.43 in modern English

Syllables: wa-ter trough
IPA

18

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

a long trough placed between the rails in a railway track, which enabled a steam locomotive to replenish its water supply without stopping by lowering a scoop. They were removed at the end of steam train operation.

British usage

noun

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see water, trough: a watering trough for livestock.

Example Sentences

"No water troughs are provided on any part of the Southern Railway. Even on the West of England and Bournemouth main lines, the tenders of the locomotives can carry sufficient water for the longest regular non-stop runs, such as London to Bournemouth (107.9 miles), London to Salisbury (83.8 miles), and Salisbury to Exeter (88 miles)."

Etymology

From Middle English water trouȝ, equivalent to water + trough. Cognate with West Frisian wettertroch (“water trough”), Dutch watertrog (“water trough”), German Wassertrog (“water trough”), Danish vandtrug (“water trough”), Swedish vattentrog (“water trough”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: water trouȝ

Usage

British usage

Inflected Forms

water troughs (plural) water-trough (alternative) watertrough (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

water column water crane

Synonyms

track pan

Questions

What does water trough mean?: a long trough placed between the rails in a railway track, which enabled a steam locomotive to replenish its water supply without stopping by lowering a scoop. They were removed at the end of steam train operation.
Where does water trough come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce water trough

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