pillion
Americannoun
-
a pad or cushion attached behind a saddle, especially as a seat for a woman.
-
a pad, cushion, saddle, or the like, used as a passenger seat on a bicycle, motor scooter, etc.
-
a passenger's saddle or seat behind the driver's seat on a motorcycle.
noun
adverb
Etymology
Origin of pillion
1495–1505; < Scots Gaelic pillinn or Irish pillín, diminutive of peall skin, rug blanket, MIr pell < Latin pellis skin
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.
PC Paul Summerson, 44, pursued Lewis Johnson who was on a moped, and his pillion passenger Louis Kyriacou, both 18, through Stoke Newington in 2016.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2021
One particular issue is the practice of pillion riders, who are at more risk due to not being in control.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 2, 2019
As the convoy left the hospital it was chased by two motorcycle film crews, with one cameraman standing on the pillion seat.
From New York Times ● Aug. 30, 2017
A somewhat less comfortable pillion seat is hidden beneath the rear cowl, with slender fold-down passenger pegs available along with an integrated grab bar.
From Forbes ● Jul. 1, 2015
Parson Flagg, of Chester, Vermont, made his home a sort of Yankee Gretna Green; the old stage-drivers could tell plenty of stories of elopers on saddle and pillion who rode to his door.
From Stage-coach and Tavern Days by Alice Morse Earle
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.
