carriage
Americannoun
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carriages
plural
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a wheeled vehicle for conveying persons, as one drawn by horses and designed for comfort and elegance.
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British. a railway passenger coach.
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a wheeled support, as for a cannon.
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a movable part, as of a machine, designed for carrying something.
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manner of carrying the head and body; bearing.
the carriage of a soldier.
- Synonyms:
- air, demeanor, comportment, mien
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Also called carriage piece,. Also called horse. an inclined beam, as a string, supporting the steps of a stair.
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the act of transporting; conveyance.
the expenses of carriage.
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the price or cost of transportation.
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(in a typewriter) the moving part carrying the platen and its associated parts, usually set in motion to carry the paper across the point where the print element or type bars strike.
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management; administration.
noun
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a railway coach for passengers
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the manner in which a person holds and moves his head and body; bearing
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a four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for persons
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the moving part of a machine that bears another part
a typewriter carriage
a lathe carriage
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the act of conveying; carrying
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the charge made for conveying (esp in the phrases carriage forward, when the charge is to be paid by the receiver, and carriage paid )
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of carriage
1150–1200; Middle English cariage < Anglo-French, Old North French, equivalent to cari ( er ) to carry + -age -age
Explanation
A carriage is a vehicle with wheels that's usually pulled by horses. In some cities, you can go for a carriage ride through the park. A carriage generally has four wheels and is pulled by two or more horses, while the smaller cart tends to have two wheels and be pulled by a single horse. In Britain, you might hear people refer to the separate compartments of a train as carriages as well, and in some parts of the US it's used to mean "baby stroller" or "grocery cart." The Latin root is carrum, "two-wheeled war chariot."
Vocabulary lists containing carriage
Greetings, World Traveler! — List 3
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Strike A Pose: Positions and Posture
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The Sound and the Fury
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The 37-year-old from Brentwood said smoke entered the rear carriage and led to "panicked" people running in fear.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
"It seemed like a really long time but it probably was 10 seconds of that before the carriage actually fell on the side."
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Aggarwal tried to integrate the tech, but said that felt like bolting an engine to a horse-drawn carriage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
“I was a horseless carriage until about 18 months ago, and I definitely saw the writing on the wall,” Aggarwal said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
A distinguished-looking gentleman with white muttonchop sideburns strode around the back of the carriage.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Two passengers suffered serious injuries and 18 others were also hurt when three carriages of the train came off the tracks near Lewes on Thursday.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Engineers have built a temporary road and installed a crane which has been lifting carriages from the Corby to London Luton Airport Express train from the tracks.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Supporters of the industry have pushed back against ban efforts in the past, arguing that carriages are a regulated tourist staple and a key part of Central Park’s identity and local economy.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
Animal welfare advocates and some city lawmakers, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani, have repeatedly called for a ban on horse-drawn carriages, arguing that the practice is unsafe for both animals and riders in modern urban conditions.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
“They’re gentle things, there’s nothing scary about them. Anyway, you won’t be going up to school in the carriages, you’ll be going in the boats.”
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
