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.
put the cart before the horse, to do or place things in improper order; be illogical.
on the water cart, wagon.
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
to reverse the usual or natural order of things
(usually tr) to use or draw a cart to convey (goods, etc)
to cart groceries
(tr) to carry with effort; haul
to cart wood home
before 900; Middle English cart ( e ), Old English cræt (by metathesis); cognate with Old Norse kartr cart
A cart is a vehicle with wheels that's pulled by an animal, a person, or by another vehicle. You could attach a cart to your dog and teach him to pull it around. The typical cart is hooked up to a draft horse or another farm animal. Other kinds of carts include hand carts, which can be stacked with heavy items and easily pushed or pulled by people; and golf carts, which are open vehicles that are powered by electricity or gasoline. When you cart something around, you lug it or transport it. The word cart comes from a Scandinavian source, probably the Old Norse kartr.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Hay Wain sits on a 6ft-wide canvas and depicts a scene at Flatford with a horse and cart in the river and Willy Lott's Cottage on the bank.
From BBC • Jul. 11, 2026
Authorities said Martinez was operating a hot dog cart near 7th and Figueroa Streets around 3:45 p.m. on June 15 when she got into an argument with 19-year-old Harmunie Heaven Church.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 6, 2026
In Bangkok, Nikorn Sai-inthara, a 60-year-old selling vegetables from a street cart, estimated his operating costs had risen by 30 percent.
From Barron's • Jun. 28, 2026
I was in the chorus and in plays, and I worked pushing a cart with dead frogs to biology classes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026
They put the pedestal on this big cart at 51st Street.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
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.
