caboose

noun

a car on a freight train, used chiefly as the crew's quarters and usually attached to the rear of the train.

British. a kitchen on the deck of a ship; galley.

Slang. the buttocks.

Origin:
1740–50; < early modern Dutch cabūse (Dutch kabuis) ship's galley, storeroom; compare Low German kabuus, kabüse, Middle Low German kabuse booth, shed; further origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To caboose

Relevant Questions

How To Boost Your Caboos...

00:10

Caboose is always a great word to know.

So is bezoar. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

caboose (kəˈbuːs)

—n
1.	informal (US) short for calaboose
2.	(US), (Canadian) railways a guard's van, esp one with sleeping and eating facilities for the train crew
3.	nautical
	a. a deckhouse for a galley aboard ship or formerly in Canada, on a lumber raft
	b. chiefly (Brit) the galley itself
4.	(Canadian)
	a. a mobile bunkhouse used by lumbermen, etc
	b. an insulated cabin on runners, equipped with a stove

[C18: from Dutch cabūse, of unknown origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

caboose

1747, "ship's cookhouse," from M.Du. kambuis "ship's galley," from Low Ger. kabhuse "wooden cabin on ship's deck;" probably a compound whose elements correspond to English cabin and house. Railroading sense is by 1859.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

caboose definition

[kəˈbus]

n.
the buttocks. (From the name of the car at the end of a railroad train.) : You just plunk your caboose over there on the settee and listen up to what I have to tell you.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences

When train length permits, placarded car may not be nearer than the sixth car

from the engine or occupied caboose.

But the real surprise is that this caboose cash-in was made so well, unlike its

imported predecessors.

There are modern restrooms and showers, caboose cabins and camping to name a

few.

Caboose trains are a way for families to take the kids for a short train ride

on specific dates throughout the season.