carriage

noun

car·​riage ˈker-ij 

ˈka-rij

plural carriages

1

a

: a wheeled vehicle

especially : a horse-drawn vehicle designed for private use and comfort

b

British : a railway passenger coach

2

: a wheeled support carrying a burden

3

a

: manner of bearing the body : posture

that slender unrigid erectness and the fine carriage of head

—Willa Cather

b

archaic : deportment

4

: the act of carrying

5

: a movable part of a machine for supporting some other movable object or part

a typewriter carriage

6

chiefly British : the price or expense of carrying

7

medical : the condition of harboring a pathogen within the body

Clinical manifestations of enterovirus infections are protean, ranging from asymptomatic carriage to life-threatening illness.

—Journal of the American Medical Association

Hospitals commonly screen patients in the ICU for nasal carriage of MRSA and use contact precautions with carriers.

—Susan S. Huang et al.

8

archaic : management

9

obsolete : burden, load

10

obsolete : import, sense

11

obsolete : a hanger for a sword

Synonyms

• equipage
• rig

Choose the Right Synonym for carriage

bearing, deportment, demeanor, mien, manner, carriage mean the outward manifestation of personality or attitude.

bearing is the most general of these words but now usually implies characteristic posture.

a woman of regal bearing

deportment suggests actions or behavior as formed by breeding or training.

your deportment was atrocious

demeanor suggests one's attitude toward others as expressed in outward behavior.

the haughty demeanor of the headwaiter

mien is a literary term referring both to bearing and demeanor.

a mien of supreme self-satisfaction

manner implies characteristic or customary way of moving and gesturing and addressing others.

the imperious manner of a man used to giving orders

carriage applies chiefly to habitual posture in standing or walking.

the kind of carriage learned at boarding school

Examples of carriage in a Sentence

They rode to the city in carriages.

I took the baby to the park in the carriage.

Recent Examples on the Web

But these companies currently don’t sell vehicles to consumers, and Cruise recently halted its service after California’s DMV suspended its license due to an incident in which a car dragged a pedestrian under its carriage for 20 feet. —Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024

Photo : Public Domain The world’s first practical automobile was a Benz In 1886, a German engineer named Carl Benz received what’s believed to be the world’s first patent for a wheeled carriage powered by a gasoline engine. —Bob Sorokanich, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2024

Archaeologists in Belgium have unearthed a century-old train carriage marked with the logo of the London North Eastern Railway (LNER). —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024

The creature’s face seemed to be protruded, because of its bent carriage. —Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024

That year, their wedding ceremony, held at the home of Richie’s father Lionel Richie, featured a French garden theme with a live elephant—for good luck, said the bride—and a horse and carriage. —Christian Allaire, Vogue, 3 Apr. 2024

Whether cable distributors object likely won’t be known unless carriage talks grow contentious. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024

This being America, posture panic was swiftly commercialized, with a range of products marketed to appeal to the eighty per cent of the population whose carriage had been deemed inadequate by posture surveys. —Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024

The property covers more than 400 acres, which include formal gardens, a carriage barn, and many other enticing attractions. —Kira Turnbull, Travel + Leisure, 2 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cariage, carrage "act of transporting, conveyances collectively, vehicle, burden, baggage," borrowed from Anglo-French "transporting, means of transport, baggage train," from carier, charier "to transport, carry entry 1" + -age -age

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing carriage

• baby carriage
• carriage trade
• horseless carriage

Kids Definition

carriage

noun

car·​riage ˈkar-ij 

1

: the act of carrying

2

: manner of holding the body : posture

3

: a horse-drawn wheeled vehicle designed for carrying persons

4

: a wheeled support carrying a load

gun carriage

5

: a movable part of a machine for supporting some other movable object or part

a typewriter carriage

Medical Definition

carriage

noun

car·​riage ˈkar-ij 

: the condition of harboring a pathogen within the body

immunization against hepatitis B reduced the rate of HBV carriage

asymptomatic carriage of the pneumococcus in the nasopharynx