gondola

noun

gon·​do·​la

(usual for sense 1)

ˈgän-də-lə  gän-ˈdō- 

1

: a long narrow flat-bottomed boat with a high prow and stern used on the canals of Venice

2

a

: an elongated car attached to the underside of an airship

b

: an often spherical airtight enclosure suspended from a balloon for carrying passengers or instruments

c

: an enclosed car suspended from a cable and used for transporting passengers

especially : one used as a ski lift

3

: a heavy flat-bottomed boat used on New England rivers and on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers

4

: a railroad car with no top, a flat bottom, and fixed sides that is used chiefly for hauling heavy bulk commodities

Illustration of gondola

• gondola 1

Examples of gondola in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At Park City Mountain, chair lift rides open up for the summer season from the Town Lift, Payday Lift, or Crescent Lift, and gondola rides start from the Red Pine Gondola in Canyons Village. —AFAR Media, 4 July 2025

Aside from attending the wedding celebrations and going for gondola rides in Venice, the Kylie Cosmetics founder also made sure to view art at a museum in the city and spend time with her two children, Stormi and Aire Webster. —Starr Bowenbank, People.com, 30 June 2025

The Pixar Pal-A-Round eccentric wheel with sliding gondolas in Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure will be closed July 14-24 for a seasonal refurbishment. —Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 26 June 2025

In a serene scene in Venice in 1963, a man reads beneath an archway, his back against the wall, gondolas docked in the canal below. —Donna Seaman june 18, Literary Hub, 18 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Italian dialect (Venetian), probably from Middle Greek kontoura small vessel

First Known Use

1549, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

gondola

noun

gon·​do·​la ˈgän-də-lə ( 

usual for sense 1

) 

gän-ˈdō-

1

: a long narrow boat with a high prow and stern used on the canals of Venice

2

: a railroad car with low sides and no top used for hauling loose freight

3

: an enclosure that hangs from something: as

a

: the part of a balloon in which passengers or instruments are carried

b

: a car that hangs from a cable and is used especially as a lift for skiers