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 of carriage

• chariot
• cab
• stagecoach
• equipage

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

The report also called on Transport for London, which operates the city’s underground train network, to add air conditioning to new tube trains and look for new ways to keep carriages and platforms cool. — Olivia Rudgard, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026

No mob godfather has ever been as terrifying as Roscoe Conkling spurned by Chester Arthur in the back of that carriage. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2026

The ranch’s central plaza includes a chapel set up to show movies, an outdoor cantina and rose garden, a carriage house, and a recording studio. — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 19 Aug. 2026

Instead of pushing an aircraft with steam pressure, the system accelerates a launch carriage using electromagnetic force. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 18 Aug. 2026

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

Rhymes for carriage

• undercarriage

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