caravan

[ kar-uh-van ]

/ ˈkær əˌvæn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR caravan ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a group of travelers, as merchants or pilgrims, journeying together for safety in passing through deserts, hostile territory, etc.

any group traveling in or as if in a caravan and using a specific mode of transportation, as pack animals or motor vehicles: a caravan of trucks; a camel caravan.

a large covered vehicle for conveying passengers, goods, a sideshow, etc.; van.

Chiefly British. a house on wheels; trailer.

verb (used with object), car·a·vaned or car·a·vanned, car·a·van·ing or car·a·van·ning.

to carry in or as if in a caravan: Trucks caravaned food and medical supplies to the flood's survivors.

verb (used without object), car·a·vaned or car·a·vanned, car·a·van·ing or car·a·van·ning.

to travel in or as if in a caravan: They caravaned through Egypt.

Nearby words

carat, caratacus, caratinga, caravaggio, caravaggio, michelangelo merisi da, caravan, caravanner, caravansary, caravanserai, caravel, caraway

Origin of caravan

1590–1600; earlier carovan < Italian carovana < Persian kārwān

SYNONYMS FOR caravan

1 parade, procession, train, cavalcade, band.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR caravan ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

car·a·van·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for caravan

A caravan of trams stuck in the middle of the medieval city waited in line for the protest to end.
Ukraine’s Home Front Grows War Weary|Anna Nemtsova|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I met a girl on holiday in a caravan park—which you guys call a trailer park—and she was from Northern Ireland.
Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy on 'Eleanor Rigby,' First Heartbreak, and Robin Williams|Marlow Stern|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The caravan was carrying humanitarian aid, Russian authorities said.
Russia's Suspicious Humanitarian Aid for Ukraine Separatists|Anna Nemtsova|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The progress of the caravan of SUVs and buses ferrying the embassy staff out to Tunisia was monitored in real-time in Washington.
U.S. Diplomats and Marines Close Embassy and Flee Libya Fighting|Jamie Dettmer|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A caravan from Windsor, Ontario across the river recently delivered a couple of hundred gallons to needy customers.
Detroit Shuts Off Water to Residents but Not to Businesses Who Owe Millions|Mary M. Chapman|July 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sabbata however traveled not by water, but by land, by way of Hebron and Gaza, probably joining a caravan through the desert.
History of the Jews, Vol. V (of 6)|Heinrich Graetz
Then I visited Hlaje Tsering with the corner pillars of my caravan.
Trans-Himalaya, Vol. 1 (of 2)|Sven Hedin
Further on we caught up with a caravan of travelling merchants with their camels and pack-horses.
At the Court of the Amr|John Alfred Gray
Somehow, in spite of the reception given the caravan, he was uneasy.
The Weakling|Everett B. Cole
Perhaps no caravan had more success than ours during the first month of the journey.
Lillian Morris, and Other Stories|Henryk Sienkiewicz

British Dictionary definitions for caravan

caravan

/ (ˈkærəˌvæn) /

noun

a large enclosed vehicle capable of being pulled by a car or lorry and equipped to be lived inUS and Canadian name: trailer
(as modifier)a caravan site

(esp in some parts of Asia and Africa) a company of traders or other travellers journeying together, often with a train of camels, through the desert

a group of wagons, pack mules, camels, etc, esp travelling in single file

a large covered vehicle, esp a gaily coloured one used by Romany Gypsies, circuses, etc

verb -vans, -vanning or -vanned

(intr) British to travel or have a holiday in a caravan

Derived Forms

caravanning, noun

Word Origin for caravan

C16: from Italian caravana, from Persian kārwān

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012