carriage
Americannoun
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carriages
plural
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a wheeled vehicle for conveying persons, as one drawn by horses and designed for comfort and elegance.
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British. a railway passenger coach.
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a wheeled support, as for a cannon.
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a movable part, as of a machine, designed for carrying something.
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manner of carrying the head and body; bearing.
the carriage of a soldier.
- Synonyms:
- air, demeanor, comportment, mien
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Also called carriage piece,. Also called horse. an inclined beam, as a string, supporting the steps of a stair.
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the act of transporting; conveyance.
the expenses of carriage.
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the price or cost of transportation.
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(in a typewriter) the moving part carrying the platen and its associated parts, usually set in motion to carry the paper across the point where the print element or type bars strike.
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management; administration.
noun
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a railway coach for passengers
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the manner in which a person holds and moves his head and body; bearing
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a four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for persons
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the moving part of a machine that bears another part
a typewriter carriage
a lathe carriage
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the act of conveying; carrying
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the charge made for conveying (esp in the phrases carriage forward, when the charge is to be paid by the receiver, and carriage paid )
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of carriage
1150–1200; Middle English cariage < Anglo-French, Old North French, equivalent to cari ( er ) to carry + -age -age
Explanation
A carriage is a vehicle with wheels that's usually pulled by horses. In some cities, you can go for a carriage ride through the park. A carriage generally has four wheels and is pulled by two or more horses, while the smaller cart tends to have two wheels and be pulled by a single horse. In Britain, you might hear people refer to the separate compartments of a train as carriages as well, and in some parts of the US it's used to mean "baby stroller" or "grocery cart." The Latin root is carrum, "two-wheeled war chariot."
Vocabulary lists containing carriage
Greetings, World Traveler! — List 3
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Strike A Pose: Positions and Posture
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The Sound and the Fury
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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.
See Examples For:
"It seemed like a really long time but it probably was 10 seconds of that before the carriage actually fell on the side."
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
A 63-year-old man has been found guilty of harassing the Labour MP for Walthamstow after preventing her from leaving a Tube carriage and behaving in an "abusive and aggressive" manner.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Television stations are also seeing their share of carriage fees from cable and satellite companies shrink due to cord-cutting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
But after Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old tourist from India, was killed falling or jumping from a runaway horse and carriage in Central Park on June 17, a renewed push began in the City Council.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
“I am glad to hear it. For how could Lord Ashton and I take a pleasant turn in a carriage of a Sunday, if our horses were not properly shod— eek! Is that a pimple?”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
The train departed Rayleigh at 14:06 but failed to reach Wickford at 14:11 as planned, due to two of its rear carriages coming off the tracks.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
"We were fortunate that we stayed on the embankment. The last three carriages rolled down into the field," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Supporters of the industry have pushed back against ban efforts in the past, arguing that carriages are a regulated tourist staple and a key part of Central Park’s identity and local economy.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
Animal welfare advocates and some city lawmakers, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani, have repeatedly called for a ban on horse-drawn carriages, arguing that the practice is unsafe for both animals and riders in modern urban conditions.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
As they gobbled up the last of the sugary treat, they watched the busy streets filled with pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages, bicyclists, and every now and then a fancy automobile from the rich part of town.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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.
