Synonyms

sled

American

[sled] / slɛd /

noun

a small vehicle consisting of a platform mounted on runners for use in traveling over snow or ice.
a sledge.

verb (used without object)

to coast, ride, or be carried on a sled.

verb (used with object)

to convey by sled.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

sledlike

adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

sleds

plural

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of sled

1350–1400; Middle English sledde < Middle Dutch; akin to German Schlitten sled, sleigh; cf. slide

Explanation

If you want to slide down a snowy hill, hop on a sled! A sled can be simple and plastic, or it can be more complicated, with wood and metal runners, like the kind that huskies pull across the tundra. Mush! Sleds sit on runners made to glide over an icy or snowy surface. Large sleds can seat several riders and are pulled by one or more horses, while dog sleds pull one or two people and are usually pulled by several dogs. The sled you get out of the garage in the winter is made of plastic, wood, or metal, and it's meant to slide fast downhill. In the U.K., the word for a sled is sledge.

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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:

sled sleds sledded sledding

Northern sled dogs became compact and heavily coated for cold conditions, while hunting dogs near the equator tended to be leaner and better suited to heat.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

The actor added that he imagined turning the fictional home into a “movie fun house” where people could sled down the stairs just like Kevin does in the movie.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026

The Americans’ four-run time of 3 minutes and 49.21 seconds was .75 seconds behind the winners and .37 seconds ahead of Germany’s third sled, piloted by Kim Kaliciki.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2026

The first time Trinidad’s Micah Moore, a former sprinter, rode a sled, he said he thought he was going to die.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2026

I had more wood next to the sled and I slowly put a couple of pieces on the fire and leaned back again.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

They are mounted on sleds and fired down a track to make sure they remain structurally sound when subjected to 16 times the force of gravity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

Humphries and brakewoman Jasmine Jones, a former USC track star, finished third behind a pair of German sleds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2026

But their partnership and matrimonial bliss dissolves as soon as their sleds hit the track.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

Also on the Cortina track, keep an eye out for Brad Hall's two-man and four-man sleds in the men's bobsleigh.

From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026

“It was about sundown when I heard the sleds coming around the curve,” said a Columbian Guard who witnessed the run.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

The three spies soon parachuted successfully to the ground, landing in waist-high snow, and sledded downhill, heading toward Innsbruck.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2022

"I’ve been trying to juggle," she said as her 7-year-old sledded on the hill outside and her 4-year-old didn’t want to go out.

From Fox News ● Jan. 7, 2022

The dead included an 8-month-old baby in a car that slipped off a suburban New Orleans road and a 6-year-old Virginia boy who sledded into a driver’s path.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 18, 2018

Police say he sledded down a hill near on Saturday into the car’s path and later died, despite the efforts of a witness and first responders.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 18, 2017

“We sledded all the way to Big Creek,” I told him.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

The partnership between people and dogs became especially specialized in the Arctic, where Indigenous communities developed highly sophisticated cultures centered on dog sledding.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

While winning that case would be uphill sledding, the report may have ultimately been a useful development for him.

From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2026

Another side features a curving surface descending from the apex for winter sledding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

But pedestrians can take the chair lift up the mountain to enjoy the view, before walking, sledding or taking the lift down.

From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026

I think about spending the entire weekend indoors, and suddenly sledding doesn’t seem so unpleasant.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023