toboggan

noun to·bog·gan \ tə-ˈbä-gən \

Updated on: 21 Apr 2018

Definition of toboggan

1 : a long flat-bottomed light sled made usually of thin boards curved up at one end with usually low handrails at the sides

2 : a downward course or a sharp decline

3 chiefly Southern US and Midland US : stocking cap

See toboggan defined for English-language learners

See toboggan defined for kids

Recent Examples of toboggan from the Web

Adventures by Disney, an arm of the vast magic creator, has come up with the tour menus, which include toboggan rides, hiking, zip lining in the Black Forest, and canoeing along the Ill River.

— carolyn spencer brown, Town & Country, "The Best River Cruises in the World, Ranked by Preference," 20 Nov. 2017
Last year’s tour, for instance, involved racing toboggans in the Swiss Alps and a cooking contest in San Sebastian, Spain, requiring contestants to hunt down ingredients in the city’s markets (and to ask for them in Basque).

— matthew kronsberg, WSJ, "The ‘Mystery Vacation’ Trend: What Will Your Destination Be?," 8 Mar. 2018
The gem of City Forest in the winter are the beloved toboggan runs.

— robert allen, Detroit Free Press, "Ice skate through Michigan trails under starry skies," 13 Feb. 2018
He was last seen wearing a red toboggan, red T-shirt, blue jeans, a black jacket and white shoes with red trim, officials said.

— anna beahm, AL.com, "Decatur inmate escaped from Huntsville work site," 27 Feb. 2018
Pokagon State Park's quarter-mile toboggan run in Angola features a 90-foot drop.

— nate chute, Indianapolis Star, "8 Winter Olympic sports to try in the Indianapolis area," 6 Feb. 2018
Tethered to my wrist was a toboggan, the instrument of my shame — and eventual revelation.

— alex halberstadt, Smithsonian, "Why Winter Is the Perfect Time to Visit Bavaria," 24 Jan. 2018
Activities this day will include a 2,000 pound ice sculpture and free rides on the 350-foot lighted toboggan run.

— chris barlow, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Beer garden tent new addition to 2018 Waukesha Janboree," 8 Jan. 2018
Tracy wore a red toboggan hat and a Lady Gaga T-shirt.

— john jeremiah sullivan, GQ, "In Memoriam: Lil Peep," 28 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'toboggan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of toboggan

Origin and Etymology of toboggan

Canadian French tobogan, of Algonquian origin; akin to Micmac tobâgun drag made of skin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1820

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Dialect Terms

bespoke, boughten, lave, muchacho, nigh, spunk, thunk

toboggan

verb

Definition of toboggan

intransitive verb

1 : to coast on or as if on a toboggan

2 : to decline suddenly and sharply

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tobogganer

noun

—

tobogganist

play \tə-ˈbä-gə-nist\ noun

See toboggan defined for English-language learners

Examples of toboggan in a Sentence

The kids tobogganed down the hill.

Recent Examples of toboggan from the Web

The property provides easy access to skiing and tobogganing on the Wallberg.

— alex halberstadt, Smithsonian, "Why Winter Is the Perfect Time to Visit Bavaria," 24 Jan. 2018
The main reason for my trip to this part of Bavaria, the large state that occupies Germany’s southeastern corner, was to indulge a curiosity about tobogganing.

— alex halberstadt, Smithsonian, "Why Winter Is the Perfect Time to Visit Bavaria," 24 Jan. 2018
To The Pathe Archives: Here’s the 1965 world tobogganing championship from Davos.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "The Un-American ICE," 26 Jan. 2018
Getting There This corner of Germany is renowned for its medieval villages, fairy-tale castles, hearty food, and outdoor pursuits — especially tobogganing in the winter.

— alex halberstadt, Smithsonian, "Why Winter Is the Perfect Time to Visit Bavaria," 24 Jan. 2018
There's even a place to toboggan in the county — and trails are open throughout the region for brisk, winter hikes.

— sheryl devore, Lake County News-Sun, "Just add snow," 19 Dec. 2017
Singer Ciara was roundly slammed for posting a photo of herself sliding down the Mutianyu Great Wall of China toboggan slide with her infant daughter.

— heidi stevens, chicagotribune.com, "Just let the guy love his curvy wife already," 8 Aug. 2017
Terry Scott Cohen, 42, enjoys roller coasters, mushing in Alaska and tobogganing in the Pyrenees Mountains.

— elaine glusac, New York Times, "For the Disabled Traveler, Strategies for a Successful Trip," 3 Feb. 2017

First Known Use of toboggan

1846

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

TOBOGGAN Defined for English Language Learners

toboggan

noun

Definition of toboggan for English Language Learners

: a long, light sled that has a curved front and that is used for sliding over snow and ice

toboggan

verb

Definition of toboggan for English Language Learners

: to ride on a toboggan especially down a hill

TOBOGGAN Defined for Kids

toboggan

noun to·bog·gan \ tə-ˈbä-gən \

Definition of toboggan for Students

: a long light sled made without runners and curved up at the front

History for toboggan

Toboggan, a name for a kind of sled without runners, is borrowed from the languages of American Indians living in eastern Canada and the northeast United States. In Micmac, for example, a language spoken in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec, the word is tepaqan, and in Maliseet, spoken in New Brunswick, tapakon. These words go back to an older word in Algonquian, the language from which Micmac and Maliseet developed. The Micmac and Maliseet words were formed from wetapye-, “to drag with a cord” and -kan-, “implement, thing for doing something.”