Wort des Tages
19 June 2026
banker
nounBahntechnik
A railway locomotive that can be attached to the rear of a train to assist it in climbing an incline.
Warum dieses Wort
British usage; the same job is called a helper in North America. The name comes from the bank, the railwayman's word for a graded slope, so the engine is named for the terrain rather than for what it does.
In use
She's loaded heavy tonight, so we'll put a banker on the rear for the climb and drop it off at the summit.
Written by our editors to show how the term is used, not a recorded quotation.