sander

From sand + -er.

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsændɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ændə(ɹ)

sander (plural sanders)

1. A person employed to sand wood.
2. A machine to mechanize the process of sanding.
   • 2007 July 19, Virginia Heffernan, “A Congregation Gathers to Worship the Shiny Hot Rod”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     The autophiles hang around a big, fluorescent-lighted garage with cars on cinder blocks, ostensibly in competition for a job, and they talk to the camera in between sessions at the sander or other machines.

3. (rail transport) A device which spreads sand on the rails in wet, snowy, icy, slippery conditions to improve traction.
   • 1949 November and December, K. Longbottom, “By Goods Train to Gweedore”, in Railway Magazine, page 356:

     Grass growing on the track made the running far from easy, and only frequent use of the sanders enabled us to breast the 1 in 50 gradients between Letterkenny and Kilmacrenon [sic].

   • 2021 November 17, Greg Morse, “Network News: Background: causes and effects of low adhesion and wheelslide”, in RAIL, number 944, pages 8–9:

     Traditionally, sand was used to aid grip, being released onto the track in front of the wheels from a special 'sandbox'. However, the Slough accident led to two trials on the use of train-borne sanders to aid braking: [...] Now, all new stock is fitted with automatic sanders, as have most of the pre-1994 units still running.

5. (historical) A small device resembling a salt shaker but containing sand that was shaken over a document to remove excess ink.

• (sense 3) sanding gear

• dearns, denars, resand, snared, Anders, sandre, Snader, Arends, Naders, Dranes, Danser, Sendra, Andres, redans, Rendas

From Old Norse sannr, from Proto-Germanic *sanþaz.

sander

1. true, real

• Swedish: sann