toboggan

1 of 2

noun

to·​bog·​gan tə-ˈbä-gən 

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

Illustration of toboggan

• toboggan 1

toboggan

2 of 2

verb

tobogganed; tobogganing; toboggans

intransitive verb

1

: to coast on or as if on a toboggan

2

: to decline suddenly and sharply

tobogganer noun

tobogganist

tə-ˈbä-gə-nist 

noun

Examples of toboggan in a Sentence

Verb

The kids tobogganed down the hill.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Los Angeles toboggan into the offseason, with their cup far from full. —Jay Paris, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025

Speed down a toboggan track at Au 1884, the slide near Château Frontenac. —Vjosa Isai, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025

Verb

One of the most recent photos in the exhibition, taken by an unknown artist in 1905, is a cyanotype depicting figures tobogganing on a hill in Massachusetts. —Lillian Ali, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2025

Spread over hundreds of acres of forest along the Lake Michigan shoreline, students played sports and tobogganed through snowdrifts. —Mitra Taj, New York Times, 17 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1820, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1846, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for toboggan

• andropogon
• dogon
• noggin

Kids Definition

toboggan

1 of 2 noun

to·​bog·​gan tə-ˈbäg-ən 

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

toboggan

2 of 2 verb

: to slide on a toboggan