cart
[kahrt]
- a heavy two-wheeled vehicle, commonly without springs, drawn by mules, oxen, or the like, used for the conveyance of heavy goods.
- a light two-wheeled vehicle with springs, drawn by a horse or pony.
- any small vehicle pushed or pulled by hand.
- Obsolete. a chariot.
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- to haul or convey in or as if in a cart or truck: to cart garbage to the dump.
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- to drive a cart.
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- cart off/away, to transport or take away in an unceremonious manner: The police came and carted him off to jail.
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- on the water cart, British. wagon(def 14).
- put the cart before the horse, to do or place things in improper order; be illogical.
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Origin of cart
before 900; Middle English cart(e), Old English cræt (by metathesis); cognate with Old Norse kartr cart
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for cart
Contemporary Examples
Brand pushes her cart with Ashton in it alongside her coworkers (one of whom was later killed in the attack).
He places his cart at the corner and starts pushing the trash toward it.
Furry puts the bandanna in his pocket and moves on, walking behind the cart.
The other cart is gone and there is a black Buick parked at the curb.
He rolls the cart down Fourth, across Pontotoc and Linden, to his own block, where he parks it at the curb, between two cars.
Historical Examples
This convinced me that the cart belonged to Mr. Gosse, who I knew had returned.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
The people with the cart could not overtake me, and I returned.
He cleans up his four quarts three times a day, and is as big as a cart horse.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
I demurred—I had got the paternal injunction to remain with the horse and cart.
Camps, Quarters and Casual PlacesArchibald Forbes
The boy understood that he was to draw the cart, but he knew not where.
What Sami Sings with the BirdsJohanna Spyri
cart1
- a heavy open vehicle, usually having two wheels and drawn by horses, used in farming and to transport goods
- a light open horse-drawn vehicle having two wheels and springs, for business or pleasure
- any small vehicle drawn or pushed by hand, such as a trolley
- put the cart before the horse to reverse the usual or natural order of things
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- (usually tr) to use or draw a cart to convey (goods, etc)to cart groceries
- (tr) to carry with effort; haulto cart wood home
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Word Origin
C13: from Old Norse kartr; related to Old English cræt carriage, Old French carete; see car
cart2
- radio television short for cartridge (def. 4)
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CART
- Championship Auto Racing Teams
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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
Word Origin and History for cart
n.
c.1200, from Old Norse kartr or a similar Scandinavian source, akin to and replacing Old English cræt "cart, wagon, chariot," perhaps originally "body of a cart made of wickerwork, hamper" and related to Middle Dutch cratte "woven mat, hamper," Dutch krat "basket," Old English cradol (see cradle (n.)). To put the cart before the horse in a figurative sense is from 1510s in those words; the image in other words dates to mid-14c.
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v.
"to carry in a cart," late 14c., from cart (n.). Related: Carted; carting.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with cart
cart
In addition to the idioms beginning with cart
- cart before the horse, put the
- cart off
also see:
- upset the applecart
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.