locomotive

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A self-propelled vehicle, usually electric or diesel-powered, for pulling or pushing freight or passenger cars on railroad tracks.
2. n. A driving or pulling force; an impetus: "The US could no longer serve as the locomotive for the world economy” ( George Soros).
3. adj. Of, relating to, or involved in locomotion.
4. adj. Serving to put into motion or propel forward: "It may be that the founding fathers overestimated the locomotive force of the collective and mutual self-interest” ( Ian Davidson).
5. adj. Able to move independently from place to place.
6. adj. Of or relating to a self-propelled locomotive.
7. adj. Of or relating to travel.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Moving from place to place; changing place, or able to effect change of (its own) place: as, a locomotive animal.
2. Having the power to produce motion, or to move (something else) from place to place: as, a locomotive organ of the body; a locomotive engine.
3. Of or pertaining to locomotion; locomotory.
4. n. A steam-engine which travels on wheels turned by its own power; specifically, an engine designed and adapted to travel on a railway; a railroad-engine. Locomotives designed to travel upon the ground or ordinary highways and to draw loads are more commonly called traction-engines; and those used upon common roads and designed to carry passengers are called steam-wagons or steam-carriages. (See traction-engine and steam-carriage.) American locomotives are distinguished from those constructed in other countries by the exterior position of the cylinders, the absence of heavy framing, the use of bogies, a system of suspension by means of bars or levers, and certain minor features, such as the cow-catcher and single headlight. The essential parts of a locomotive are the boiler (usually long, horizontal, and of the “locomotive type” (see locomotive-boiler), with many tubes), the running-gear or wheel-system, and the engine proper, this being a double-cylinder, reversing, high-pressure motor, of which the exhaust-steam is thrown into the smoke-stack to urge the draft of the fire. The various wheel-systems employed have given rise to special types of locomotives. See passenger-locomotive, switching-locomotive, tank-locomotive, etc., below. See also cut under passenger engine.
5. n. Geared locomotives having toothed driving-wheels, the teeth of which engage a rack, are used for steep grades in mountain railways.

Wiktionary

1. adj. of or relating to locomotion
2. adj. of or relating to the power unit of a train which does not carry passengers or freight itself
3. n. rail transport The power unit of a train which does not carry passengers or freight itself, but pulls the coaches or rail cars or wagons.
4. n. rare A traction engine
5. n. slang A cheer characterized by a slow beginning and a progressive increase in speed
6. n. economics A country which drives the world economy by having a high level of imports. (i.e. The United States).

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. Moving from place to place; changing place, or able to change place.
2. adj. Used in producing motion.
3. n. A locomotive engine; a self-propelling wheel carriage, especially one which bears a steam boiler and one or more steam engines which communicate motion to the wheels and thus propel the carriage, -- used to convey goods or passengers, or to draw wagons, railroad cars, etc. See Illustration in Appendix.

WordNet 3.0

1. adj. of or relating to locomotion
2. n. a wheeled vehicle consisting of a self-propelled engine that is used to draw trains along railway tracks