rickshaw
Americannoun
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a small, two-wheeled, cartlike passenger vehicle with a fold-down top, pulled by one person, formerly used widely in Japan and China.
noun
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Also called: jinrikisha. a small two-wheeled passenger vehicle drawn by one or two men, used in parts of Asia
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Also called: trishaw. a similar vehicle with three wheels, propelled by a man pedalling as on a tricycle
Etymology
Origin of rickshaw
First recorded in 1875–80; by contraction of jinrikisha ( def. )
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.
"Some of their parents are rickshaw pullers, labourers, or tea vendors... Some cannot afford it and quit football. I feel like quitting too every time I see a girl leaving the game."
From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026
The remaining three account holders were a rickshaw driver, a widow doing tailoring work in a small shanty town and a carpenter.
From BBC • Sep. 7, 2025
“We will have a beautiful future, God willing,” said Mahmoud Mustafa, a rickshaw driver clutching a plastic food bowl.
From New York Times • Jun. 5, 2024
And I mean everything from a tuk-tuk, to a scooter, to a bus, to a cow, to a rickshaw, to everything.
From Salon • Mar. 6, 2024
“Take us to a temple,” Sass ordered the rickshaw boy.
From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan
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.
