tumbrel
or tum·bril
one of the carts used during the French Revolution to convey victims to the guillotine.
a farmer's cart, especially one for hauling manure, that can be tilted to discharge its load.
Obsolete. a two-wheeled covered cart accompanying artillery for carrying tools, ammunition, etc.
Origin of tumbrel
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use tumbrel in a sentence
Humboldt states that the police were in the practice of sending tumbrels round, to collect the unhappy victims of intoxication.
On our side we lost one gun, the tumbrels having been blown up and the horses killed.
Twelve Years of a Soldier's Life in India | W. S. R. HodsonOthers, scorning to hang their hopes on desperate chances, waited stoically or reverently the summons to the tumbrels.
In the Name of Liberty | Owen JohnsonBut as the tumbrels passed the river the insults ceased, replaced by murmurs of sympathy.
In the Name of Liberty | Owen JohnsonThe tumbrels, surrounded by cavalry, were disappearing in the distance, moving swiftly.
In the Name of Liberty | Owen Johnson
British Dictionary definitions for tumbrel
tumbril
/ (ˈtʌmbrəl) /
a farm cart for carrying dung, esp one that tilts backwards to deposit its load. A cart of this type was used to take condemned prisoners to the guillotine during the French Revolution
(formerly) a covered cart that accompanied artillery in order to carry ammunition, tools, etc
an obsolete word for a ducking stool
Origin of tumbrel
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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