bobsled
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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
- bobsledder noun
Etymology
Origin of bobsled
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.
Saturday’s medal was her sixth in Olympic bobsled competition.
From Los Angeles Times
On Friday, Hill and O’Brien will complete their journeys when the two-woman bobsled competition gets underway at the Cortina Sliding Centre.
From Los Angeles Times
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
"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
Meyers Taylor’s earliest Olympic ambitions didn’t involve bobsled, ice, or even the winter Games.
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.
