bobsled

American  

[bob-sled] / ˈbɒbˌslɛd /

noun

• bobsleds
  plural

1. a sled having two pairs of runners, a brake, and a steering wheel or other mechanism that enables the front rider to direct the sled down a steeply banked run or chute.

2. a sled formed of two short sleds coupled one behind the other.

3. either of the sleds thus coupled.

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verb (used without object)

• bobsleds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bobsledded,
  past participle,  past
• bobsledding
  present participle

1. to ride on a bobsled.

Usage

What is bobsled? Bobsled is a sport in which racers ride a sled known as a bobsled (or bobsleigh) down an ice-covered chute with the goal of reaching the finish line as quickly as possible. The term bobsled is more commonly used (for both the event and the sled) in the U. S. and Canada, but bobsleigh is the official name of the event in the Winter Olympics. The sport is sometimes casually referred to as bobsledding. Bobsled competitions often involve teams of two or four, but there are also individual events. The one-person bobsled event is called monobob. (A women’s monobob event was added to the Winter Olympics in 2022.)Bobsleds consist of a tubelike structure on runners with a steering mechanism and brakes. At the start of each heat, the racer or racers push the bobsleigh to gain speed before jumping inside, with the rider at the front handling steering. Bobsled is known as one of the sliding sports, along with luge and skeleton. Those take place on a similar course, but racers in those events ride on top of their sled (feetfirst in luge, headfirst in skeleton), rather than inside of it like in bobsled. Bobsled is known for its high speeds, often nearing 100 mph (161 km/h). Example: I think bobsled is thrilling—and the start might be the most exciting part!

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bobsledder
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bobsleds
  plural

Participles

• bobsledding
  present
• bobsledded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bobsled
  simple
• bobsleds
  simple
• have bobsledded
  perfect
• has bobsledded
  perfect
• am bobsledding
  progressive
• are bobsledding
  progressive
• is bobsledding
  progressive
• have been bobsledding
  perfect progressive
• has been bobsledding
  perfect progressive

Past

• bobsledded
  simple
• had bobsledded
  perfect
• was bobsledding
  progressive
• were bobsledding
  progressive
• had been bobsledding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bobsled
  simple
• will have bobsledded
  perfect
• will be bobsledding
  progressive
• will have been bobsledding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bobsled

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; bob ² + sled

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bobsled bobsleds bobsledding

Anschutz owns the Home Depot Center, where the U.S. bobsled and skeleton teams train.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026

Elana Meyers Taylor took gold and Kaillie Humphries bronze in the women’s monobob bobsled competition Monday at the Milan-Cortina Olympics.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026

Most of the Jamaican team in Cortina is made up of sprinters who couldn’t catch Usain Bolt, so they climbed in a bobsled instead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026

"I am aware of the diatribe the commentator directed towards the Israeli bobsled team on the Swiss Olympic broadcast today," he wrote.

From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026

He was picking up speed, skidding downhill like a bobsled.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

Cold-weather sports require gloves and goggles and helmets, duffel bags bulging with hockey sticks, rifles for biathletes and four-man bobsleds the size of grand pianos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2022

Canada has typically had three women’s and two men’s bobsleds in World Cup events this season.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 29, 2021

Kinney will compete with Sam Michener, Nick Cunningham and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor, who played football at the University of Virginia at Wise, in one of Team USA’s three four-man bobsleds at the PyeongChang Games.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 28, 2018

Bobsleigh, luge and skeleton are among the fastest of Olympic sports, with bobsleds reaching speeds in excess of 150kph.

From Reuters ● Jan. 8, 2018

In a minute more the two bobsleds stood side by side, each with its load of passengers, and with Fred ready to push one to the front and Nick Carncross ready to shove the other.

From The Rover Boys on a Hunt or The Mysterious House in the Woods by Edward Stratemeyer

She told Olympics.com she’s returned to bobsledding in a “very different body,” but she feels motherhood has given her a new level of strength.

From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026

Indeed, Herschel Walker’s athletic record made him a state icon—he’s not only a former college football and NFL star, but he once also competed on the Olympic bobsledding team.

From Slate ● Oct. 12, 2022

There was yet another battle — this one within the sport of bobsledding — that she and Meyers Taylor waged together.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2022

When she left softball, she joined the world of bobsledding, where she had some breathtaking victories and met her husband, fellow bobsledder Nic Taylor.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 14, 2022

Skating, bobsledding, skiing, and even walking, was taboo for a while, for there was more mud in sight than snow.

From Nan Sherwood at Rose Ranch by Annie Roe Carr

Related Words

• luge