Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A system of continuous railway-brakes operated by compressed air.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • He was falling ever faster but he dropped the gear and pulled back the air-brake, 'surely being behind enemy lines has to be better than being dead' he mumbled.

    (1) Descendence Bob Davies 2007

  • He was falling ever faster but he dropped the gear and pulled back the air-brake, 'surely being behind enemy lines has to be better than being dead' he mumbled.

    Archive 2007-11-01 Bob Davies 2007

  • The train is equipped with a new air-brake system that deploys in the event of an earthquake or other emergency.

    World’s Fastest Train | Impact Lab 2005

  • When they took Casey's body from the wreckage (old 638 had plowed through the cars and caboose and turned over on her side a short distance beyond) they found one hand on the whistle cord, the other on the air-brake lever.

    Casey Jones Bluesman Harry 1998

  • They recoiled with a bound and made a simultaneous rush for the air-brake in the forward passenger-car to stop the train and check the backward sweep of the blaze.

    The Little Gold Miners of the Sierras and Other Stories Various

  • Each of the five large railroads entering Cleveland has air-brake cars equipped with various forms of air brakes, air signals, pumps, valves, and injectors for the purpose of giving instruction to trainmen.

    Wage Earning and Education Rufus Rolla Lutz

  • Nowhere else in the world is there so large a Bessemer-steel plant, crucible-steel plant, plate-glass plant, chimney-glass plant, table-glass plant, air-brake plant, steel-rail plant, cork works, tube works, or steel freight-car works.

    A Short History of Pittsburgh Samuel Harden Church

  • Could I have given it a larger angle, then the planes would have become a much more effective air-brake, and we should have come to rest in a much shorter distance.

    The Aeroplane Speaks 1919

  • Could I have given it a larger angle, then the planes would have become a much more effective air-brake, and we should have come to rest in a much shorter distance.

    The Aeroplane Speaks Fifth Edition 1919

  • Could I have given it a larger angle, then the planes would have become a much more effective air-brake, and we should have come to rest in a much shorter distance.

    The Aeroplane Speaks 1917

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