yardhorse

English

Etymology

yard +‎ horse

Noun

yardhorse (plural yardhorses)

1. A heavy-duty tractor designed for moving shipping containers on chassis around a shipping terminal.
   • 1975, Jury Verdicts Weekly - Volume 19, page 4:

     Plaintiffs contended that on the night of the subject accident the decedent unhooked the yardhorse from a trailer and had parked it 10 feet in front of the trailer to drop a nosepin on the trailer; that after the decedent left the yardgoat- and while he was attempting to lower the nosepin, the yardgoat, which apparently had been in neutral, silently engaged into reverse, moved back and crushed the decedent under the trailer.

   • 1980, Hobart McKinley Conway, The Airport City: Development Concepts for the 21st Century, page 139:

     A yardhorse is used to move the air-truck container to the 747 containership.

   • 2017, Hildebrand, Gregory G. Noll, & Bill Hand, Intermodal Container Emergencies, →ISBN, page 89:

     For example, containers are constantly being loaded and unloaded, yardhorses are moving containers throughout the terminal, cranes and stackers are at work, and so forth.

Anagrams

• horse-yard