carriage

American  

[kar-ij, kar-ee-ij] / ˈkær ɪdʒ, ˈkær i ɪdʒ /

noun

• carriages
  plural

1. a wheeled vehicle for conveying persons, as one drawn by horses and designed for comfort and elegance.

   Synonyms:

   wagon, car, cart

2. baby carriage.

3. British. a railway passenger coach.

4. a wheeled support, as for a cannon.

5. a movable part, as of a machine, designed for carrying something.

6. manner of carrying the head and body; bearing.

   the carriage of a soldier.

   Synonyms:

   air, demeanor, comportment, mien

7. Also called carriage piece, horse. an inclined beam, as a string, supporting the steps of a stair.

8. the act of transporting; conveyance.

   the expenses of carriage.

9. the price or cost of transportation.

10. (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.

11. management; administration.

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carriage British  

/ ˈkærɪdʒ /

noun

1. a railway coach for passengers

2. the manner in which a person holds and moves his head and body; bearing

3. a four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for persons

4. the moving part of a machine that bears another part

   a typewriter carriage

   a lathe carriage

5. 1. the act of conveying; carrying

   2. 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

• carriages
  plural

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carriage carriages

A horse pulling a carriage passes a church in Baracoa, on Cuba’s eastern tip.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

In one image, Ali rides in a bicycle carriage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

She described the train driver, who quickly came out of his carriage to check on all the passengers, as "an absolute hero".

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

A call from Hollywood producers asking if film stars Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock could sit in a vintage railway carriage came out of the blue for station manager Robert Bentley.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

I could not see Father’s face, only the erect carriage of his shoulders and the halo of white hair above them.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Phoebe said she was told by staff to try and get her wheelchair through the train aisle, but it did not fit so she crawled through three carriages.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Chandeliers, poetry and flower arches decorate a government marriage registry, and officials hope baby carriages will follow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

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

British Transport Police said three carriages derailed, leaving several people trapped.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

But carriages met the train, and no one had to go inside the depot.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Related Words

• freight