Illustration of travois
plural travois also travoises
trə-ˈvȯiz 
ˈtra-ˌvȯiz
: a simple vehicle used by Plains Indians consisting of two trailing poles serving as shafts and bearing a platform or net for the load
Examples of travois in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The researchers concluded that the tracks were likely carved into the sediment by prehistoric humans who were dragging a travois on the ground to transport items.
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Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 25 Feb. 2025
And Eugene returns home the same way that Joel will in a few short months: wrapped in cloth and strapped to a travois, blood from his wound staining the white fabric.
—EW.com, 19 May 2025
But researchers have not discovered any evidence of animals near the travois marks in New Mexico.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025
Many of the drag marks intersect with tracks of human footprints, likely left behind by the people pulling the travois.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025
The discovery of travois marks, however, has introduced the possibility that human migration began thousands of years earlier.
—Tessa Solomon For Artnews, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2025
This vehicle, called a travois, was used by Indigenous people from the Americas to carry goods throughout history, but this finding implies that the technology was developed thousands of years earlier than once believed.
—Tessa Solomon For Artnews, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2025
Read More | 22,000-year-old tracks — possibly from ‘oldest known’ vehicle — found in national park
In White Sands National Park, New Mexico, researchers discovered fossilized tracks believed to be from a travois, a cart-like construction used 22,000 years ago.
—Stories By Real-Time News Team, With Ai Summarization, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2025
The footprints are of varying size along the tracks, researchers said, meaning an adult and children were moving together while the adult pulled the travois.
—Irene Wright, Sacramento Bee, 27 Feb. 2025
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Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 25 Feb. 2025
And Eugene returns home the same way that Joel will in a few short months: wrapped in cloth and strapped to a travois, blood from his wound staining the white fabric.
—EW.com, 19 May 2025
But researchers have not discovered any evidence of animals near the travois marks in New Mexico.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025
Many of the drag marks intersect with tracks of human footprints, likely left behind by the people pulling the travois.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025
The discovery of travois marks, however, has introduced the possibility that human migration began thousands of years earlier.
—Tessa Solomon For Artnews, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2025
This vehicle, called a travois, was used by Indigenous people from the Americas to carry goods throughout history, but this finding implies that the technology was developed thousands of years earlier than once believed.
—Tessa Solomon For Artnews, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2025
Read More | 22,000-year-old tracks — possibly from ‘oldest known’ vehicle — found in national park
In White Sands National Park, New Mexico, researchers discovered fossilized tracks believed to be from a travois, a cart-like construction used 22,000 years ago.
—Stories By Real-Time News Team, With Ai Summarization, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2025
The footprints are of varying size along the tracks, researchers said, meaning an adult and children were moving together while the adult pulled the travois.
—Irene Wright, Sacramento Bee, 27 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Travois.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/travois. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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