wagon

noun wag·on \ ˈwa-gən \

|Updated on: 19 Jun 2018

Examples: wagon in a Sentence

Definition of wagon

1 a : a usually four-wheeled vehicle for transporting bulky commodities and drawn originally by animals

b : a lighter typically horse-drawn vehicle for transporting goods or passengers

c : paddy wagon

2 British : a railway freight car

3 : a low four-wheeled vehicle with an open rectangular body and a retroflex tongue made for the play or use of a child

4 : a small wheeled table used for the service of a dining room

the dessert wagon

5 : a delivery truck

a milk wagon

6 : station wagon

— off the wagon

: in or into a state of no longer abstaining from alcoholic beverages

fell off the wagon

— on the wagon

: in or into a state of abstaining from alcoholic beverages

See wagon defined for English-language learners

See wagon defined for kids

Examples of wagon in a Sentence

Pioneers crossed the American Midwest in wagons.
He pulled his stuffed animals around in a little red wagon.

Recent Examples of wagon from the Web

The Circus Hall of Fame in Peru, Ind., brought a 100-year-old circus wagon for the memorial service.

— john jurgensen, WSJ, "A Century Later, a Train Wreck Brings a Fraternal Order Together," 12 June 2018
Looking to hitch your wagon to a Cinderella that plays like one of the big boys?

— eric single, SI.com, "Everything You Must Know About the NCAA Baseball Tournament Regionals," 31 May 2018
Sorry that no one did their social-media homework before ABC hitched its wagon to a hate-spewing crackpot?

— karla peterson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Rosanne Barr's new sitcom is canceled because of some old hate," 29 May 2018
By hitching his political wagon to the unexpected rise of Donald Trump, Broidy quickly soared to become a deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee, further raising the profile of his business ventures.

— will bunch, Philly.com, "Is this Playboy model keeping the biggest secret of the Trump presidency? | Will Bunch," 22 May 2018
Throwing a second child into the mix definitely would have caused the wheels of my work-life wagon to come off.

— ginny brzezinski /, NBC News, "Navigating the off-ramps of career breaks," 12 Apr. 2018
Smith was pulling a small red children's wagon when he was hit, but no one else was hurt.

— jennifer baker, Cincinnati.com, "Pedestrian struck, killed by pickup in Middletown identified," 27 Jan. 2018
According to Indianapolis Metropolitan police, the man got into the City-County Building around 2:40 a.m., hopped into an IMPD jail wagon and took off.

— Indianapolis Star, "Suspect leads police on early-morning chase in stolen IMPD jail wagon," 28 May 2018
Of the 17 million motor vehicles sold in the U.S. each year, wagons account for barely more than 1%.

— russ mitchell, latimes.com, "New wagons from Volvo and Jaguar offer agile alternatives to the lumbering SUV," 25 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of wagon

Dutch wagen, from Middle Dutch — more at wain

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

wagon Synonyms

Synonyms

cart, wain;

Related Words

dray, jolt-wagon [Midland], oxcart, spring wagon, wagonette;

barrow, hand truck, pushcart, tram, truck, wheelbarrow;

wagon

verb

Definition of wagon

wagoned; wagoning; wagons

intransitive verb

: to travel or transport goods by wagon

transitive verb

: to transport (goods) by wagon

Recent Examples of wagon from the Web

The farm's dozens of other attractions, from a train and giant jumping pillows to wagon rides to a pumpkin patch, give it almost amusement-park status.

— chelsey lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Get lost! In one of 10 winding Wisconsin corn mazes," 12 Oct. 2017

First Known Use of wagon

1606

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

WAGON Defined for English Language Learners

wagon

noun

Definition of wagon for English Language Learners

: a vehicle with four wheels that is used for carrying heavy loads or passengers and that is usually pulled by animals (such as horses)
: a small, low vehicle with four wheels that children play with
: a railway car that carries goods