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.
Two males, believed to the be the driver and the pillion passenger of a motorbike, were killed after the crash with a BMW car.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
The duo along with their plumber, Ravi Shaw, who rides pillion, make their way to the first huddle of people and get to work.
From The Guardian • Mar. 19, 2020
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
Grandmother says she came all the way from Connecticut with him on horseback on a pillion behind him.
From Village Life in America 1852-1872 Including the period of the American Civil War as told in the diary of a school-girl by Richards, Caroline Cowles
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.
