caravan

American  

[kar-uh-van] / ˈkær əˌvæn /

noun

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

   Synonyms:

   band, cavalcade, train, procession, parade

2. 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.

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

4. Chiefly British. a house on wheels; trailer.

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verb (used with object)

caravaned, caravanned, caravaning, caravanning

1. to carry in or as if in a caravan.

   Trucks caravaned food and medical supplies to the flood's survivors.

verb (used without object)

caravaned, caravanned, caravaning, caravanning

1. to travel in or as if in a caravan.

   They caravaned through Egypt.

caravan British  

/ ˈkærəˌvæn /

noun

1. 1. US and Canadian name: trailer.  a large enclosed vehicle capable of being pulled by a car or lorry and equipped to be lived in

   2. ( as modifier )

      a caravan site

2. (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

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

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

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verb

1. (intr) to travel or have a holiday in a caravan

Other Word Forms

• caravanist noun
• caravanning noun

Etymology

Origin of caravan

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

Explanation

A caravan is either a covered vehicle, like a wagon or a van, or a procession of vehicles. If you watch a parade with a long line of floats traveling one after another down the street, that's a caravan of floats. The word caravan comes from the Persian karwan meaning "group of desert travelers." A caravan can be a large group of people traveling together in one long line. It's also the term used for a camper that has a living area in it. In history, pilgrims often traveled like this, lugging all of their belongings with them in caravans, or covered horse-drawn carriages. It's also a verb: caravan with your neighbors on a group road trip.

Example Sentences

The caravan looked like a mile-long millipede, Whittaker wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

And yet, a few Red Hot bangers manage to endlessly caravan in and out of lives because they’re in constant rotation on Jack FM and other adult contemporary radio stations: “Give It Away.”

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

He said the walk was funded entirely by him and his family and he had been trying to raise £30,000 to buy a "respite caravan" for people living with mental health problems, and their carers.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

Oliver Laxe’s road movie about a father and son who caravan across Morocco with a pack of tattooed strangers is set in a vast desert where you still somehow never see the plot’s curveballs coming.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

I ran up to one of the caravan guards and tried to reach for his belt, but he stepped away.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• cavalcade
• convoy
• expedition
• procession