cart
noun
a heavy two-wheeled vehicle, commonly without springs, drawn by mules, oxen, or the like, used for the conveyance of heavy goods.
cart
American
[kahrt]
/ kɑrt /
noun
-
carts
plural
-
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.
verb (used with object)
-
carts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
carted,
past participle, past
-
carting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
carts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
carted,
past participle, past
-
carting
present participle
verb phrase
idioms
-
put the cart before the horse, to do or place things in improper order; be illogical.
-
on the water cart, wagon.
cart
1
British
/ kɑːt /
noun
-
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
verb
-
(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
CART
2
British
abbreviation
cart
3
British
/ kɑːt /
noun
cart
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cartsimple
-
cartssimple
-
have cartedperfect
-
has cartedperfect
-
am cartingprogressive
-
are cartingprogressive
-
is cartingprogressive
-
have been cartingperfect progressive
-
has been cartingperfect progressive
Past
-
cartedsimple
-
had cartedperfect
-
was cartingprogressive
-
were cartingprogressive
-
had been cartingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cart
before 900; Middle English cart ( e ), Old English cræt (by metathesis); cognate with Old Norse kartr cart
Explanation
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.
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:
One bride, running late, struggled so badly navigating a path in high heels that police officers gave her a ride on their golf cart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
As Al-Louh spoke, a donkey cart with three elderly women and two elderly men as passengers came into view.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
I ping-ponged from soft cheeses to eggs and squash, then past a gelato cart and a table crowded with jams, pepper jellies and a milk carton filled with VHS tapes.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
Karl Toner, who owns a coffee cart on the shore as well as a nearby glamping site and paddleboard hire business, said visitor numbers have fallen sharply since the warning was issued on 13 July.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
We were standing in the driveway of the manse waiting for the horse and cart, which Made still regarded as the only dependable conveyance when there was a train to be caught.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
During his ownership of the property, the racing legend has enjoyed an impressive career across an array of auto arenas, including Nascar, IndyCar, CART, and the Dakar Rally.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 20, 2025
Goldman Sachs and J.P.Morgan are the lead underwriters for the offering, Instacart said, adding that its shares would be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol "CART."
From Reuters ● Sep. 7, 2023
But the F1 sanctioning fees were exorbitant and promoters rebranded the race for CART, which was the U.S.-based open-wheel series at the time.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2022
In bringing the series to Las Vegas, Bernard hoped to jolt the series back to life after more than decade of lagging crowds and ratings spawned by the series’ bitter 1996 split with CART.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 15, 2011
Another time I give her CART, and then chalked the same upon the cart.
From Dickens As an Educator by James L. (James Laughlin) Hughes
Street food isn’t just hawker carts and smoke-filled alleys.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
She remembers when the blocks up to Tin Hau Temple brimmed with food carts, trinkets, and the occasional fortune-teller.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
Where Mona believed any outfit could benefit from a splash of animal print and kitten heels, I found fashion inspiration from behind the wheels of oversize red shopping carts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
At the warehouse in Bangkok's Nonthaburi suburb, the sound of people rummaging through products and plastic crates clattering against shopping carts echoes through the building.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
They traveled in carts and herded livestock on foot, carrying children.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Lock Morwenna Talling was carted off on a stretcher against Ireland, with Mitchell confirming that she and replacement scrum-half Natasha Hunt will likely miss the rest of the tournament through injury.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
Bergdorf Goodman, acquired by Neiman Marcus in the 1970s, once carted over trunk loads of fur coats on Christmas Eve to the apartment of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
The 49ers suffered another brutal injury blow in the second quarter when Kittle was carted off the field with an Achilles injury.
From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026
I was carted around Chelmsford as Alastair Cook made 193, so I have bad memories.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
On his back and his sides he carted around with him dust, threads, hair, and remnants of food.
From "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka
But when a delivery service is carting cash around town instead of a lukewarm burrito, the stakes and security concerns, obviously, are higher.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 14, 2025
She compares carting the demo reel around Hollywood to “what the Avon lady goes through.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
Stein’s Lucky, carting Pozzo’s luxuries like a beast of burden, matches Lovett with a physical eloquence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2024
"He absolutely showed that he was scared by the explosions but he got used to it and was carting artillery around the place in big boxes."
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2024
If the entirety of her job was going to be carting heavy trays to and from the kitchen, she would have to get stronger.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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.
