snowbound en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈsnoʊˌbaʊnd/ (General-American)
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sneygʷʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *snóygʷʰos Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz Proto-West Germanic *snaiw Old English snāw Middle English snow English snow Old Norse búinnbor. Middle English bownde English bound English -bound English snowbound From snow + -bound.
Meanings
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(not-comparable) Prevented from moving or traveling due to snow or snowy weather.
When a passenger or freight train is snowbound, any train crew or passengers must first be rescued and taken to the nearest station. This task is usually done by local trackmen.
1960 January 14, M. Harbottle, “Maintaining Services after Heavy Snowfalls”, in Railway Magazine, page 12:
- (not-comparable) Of a location or other destination, inaccessible due to being covered in snow.