caravan
Americannoun
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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
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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.
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a large covered vehicle for conveying passengers, goods, a sideshow, etc.; van.
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Chiefly British. a house on wheels; trailer.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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US and Canadian name: trailer. a large enclosed vehicle capable of being pulled by a car or lorry and equipped to be lived in
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( as modifier )
a caravan site
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(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
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a group of wagons, pack mules, camels, etc, esp travelling in single file
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a large covered vehicle, esp a gaily coloured one used by Romany Gypsies, circuses, etc
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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caravansimple
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caravanssimple
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have caravanedperfect
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have caravannedperfect
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has caravanedperfect
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has caravannedperfect
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am caravaningprogressive
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am caravanningprogressive
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are caravaningprogressive
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are caravanningprogressive
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is caravaningprogressive
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is caravanningprogressive
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have been caravaningperfect progressive
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have been caravanningperfect progressive
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has been caravaningperfect progressive
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has been caravanningperfect progressive
Past
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caravannedsimple
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had caravanedperfect
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had caravannedperfect
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was caravaningprogressive
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was caravanningprogressive
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were caravaningprogressive
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were caravanningprogressive
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had been caravaningperfect progressive
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had been caravanningperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing caravan
Africa - Introductory
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Africa - Middle School
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Africa - High School
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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.
Every winter he would caravan with his students to Arizona and return to Wisconsin the following summer, an endless repeat of the settling of the interior and the wagon-train journey across the prairie.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 27, 2026
"Some caravan awnings came into grief, there were burst and bent poles and we had a gazebo that was upside down and in a very sorry shape," he said.
From BBC • Jun. 26, 2026
He still has a copy of the programme from when the Tigers won promotion to the second division in 1966, though the original was lost when his previous caravan burnt down when he was 21.
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
Sixty-five local musicians in Salina packed their instruments and in a carpool caravan drove 30 minutes east, to the town of Abilene, population 6,500.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026
I glanced over my shoulder and searched the crowds for the rest of our caravan, in case we needed to run away again.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
