toboggan

American  

[tuh-bog-uhn] / təˈbɒg ən /

noun

toboggans plural

1. a long, narrow, flat-bottomed sled made of a thin board curved upward and backward at the front, often with low handrails on the sides, used especially in the sport of coasting over snow or ice.

2. Also called boggin.  Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. a close-fitting knit cap worn in cold weather.

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verb (used without object)

toboggans, present (3rd person singular) tobogganed, past participle, past tobogganing present participle

1. to use, or coast on, a toboggan.

2. to fall rapidly, as prices or one's fortune.

toboggan British  

/ təˈbɒɡən /

noun

1. a light wooden frame on runners used for sliding over snow and ice

2. a long narrow sledge made of a thin board curved upwards and backwards at the front

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verb

1. (intr) to ride on a toboggan

Usage

What does toboggan mean? A toboggan is an old-timey sled. One kind is long and narrow with a curved-up front, and another kind has a flat platform on top of runners. Toboggan can also be used as a verb in exactly the same way that sled can be used as a verb, as in let’s go tobogganing. However, it can also mean to fall rapidly, especially in the context of nonphysical things like stock prices. Example: We found Grandpa’s old toboggan in the attic and rode it down the hill in the snow today—that thing really flies!

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tobogganer
  noun
• tobogganist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• toboggans
  plural

Participles

• tobogganing
  present
• tobogganed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• toboggan
  simple
• toboggans
  simple
• have tobogganed
  perfect
• has tobogganed
  perfect
• am tobogganing
  progressive
• are tobogganing
  progressive
• is tobogganing
  progressive
• have been tobogganing
  perfect progressive
• has been tobogganing
  perfect progressive

Past

• tobogganed
  simple
• had tobogganed
  perfect
• was tobogganing
  progressive
• were tobogganing
  progressive
• had been tobogganing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will toboggan
  simple
• will have tobogganed
  perfect
• will be tobogganing
  progressive
• will have been tobogganing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of toboggan

First recorded in 1820–30; from Canadian French tabagane, from Maliseet-Passamaquoddy tʰapákən, Mi'kmaq topaĝan (equivalent to unrecorded Proto-Algonquian weta·pye·- “to drag a cord” + -kan- “instrument for”)

Explanation

A toboggan is a type of sled that's light and thin. When you use such a sled, you're tobogganing. If you live somewhere that gets snow in the winter, you might already know what a toboggan is: a thin sled with curving boards in the front that originated with Native Canadians. Tobogganing is a popular winter sport and a lot of fun. Tobogganing sometimes refers to luging, which is a very similar winter sport. You can go extremely fast on a toboggan. If you ride a toboggan well, maybe you'll end up in the Winter Olympics.

Example Sentences

Funboy Retro Plaid Toboggan: Surprise them with an inflatable two-person toboggan for a cushioned ride in a candy-cane-colored plaid print.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 14, 2021

An attraction like Ye Old Mill, built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1915 and still operating at the Minnesota State Fair, remains true to the old principles.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 29, 2019

Toboggan building, for him, was just a sidelight; seasonal work.

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2017

Its fanciful carousel, a 1926 Philadelphia Toboggan Co. model, still includes the original wooden carousel horses and chariot seats.

From Washington Times • Jun. 7, 2014

Toboggan, tō-bog′gan, n. a kind of sled turned up at the front, much used in Canada for sliding down snow-covered slopes.—v.i. to slide down over snow on such.—Earlier also Tobog′gin, Tabog′gan, Tarbog′gin.—ns.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various