rickshaw
Americannoun
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rickshaws
plural
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a small, two-wheeled, cartlike passenger vehicle with a fold-down top, pulled by one person, formerly used widely in Japan and China.
noun
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Also called: jinrikisha. a small two-wheeled passenger vehicle drawn by one or two men, used in parts of Asia
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Also called: trishaw. a similar vehicle with three wheels, propelled by a man pedalling as on a tricycle
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rickshaw
First recorded in 1875–80; by contraction of jinrikisha ( def. )
Explanation
A rickshaw is a little taxi on two wheels. People sit in it and an energetic person pedals or pulls them to where they want to go. Rickshaws are still around, but cars have made them less popular. A rickshaw is a like a taxi — you pay its driver for a ride — but rickshaws are typically only large enough for one or two passengers. The earliest Japanese rickshaws were lifted and pulled by a person who walked or ran. Newer versions are pulled by a bike or driven like a car — these are sometimes called "auto rickshaws." The word itself comes from the Japanese jinrikisha, from jin, "man," riki, "power," and sha, "carriage."
Vocabulary lists containing rickshaw
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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:
Every day by 9 a.m., she and her husband arrive on a cycle rickshaw from home with a gas stove and other paraphernalia and work until around 5 p.m.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
"Some of their parents are rickshaw pullers, labourers, or tea vendors... Some cannot afford it and quit football. I feel like quitting too every time I see a girl leaving the game."
From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026
Those who must work - daily-wage labourers, rickshaw pullers, delivery riders - are coughing but still going out.
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2024
“We will have a beautiful future, God willing,” said Mahmoud Mustafa, a rickshaw driver clutching a plastic food bowl.
From New York Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
Outside the police station, Thatha hails a rickshaw.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
Next to his shop is a parking lot for cycle rickshaws, another crisis-proof mode of transportation.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
“Now most of us are doing work like driving rickshaws and taxis,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2025
For days, huge columns of Palestinians have streamed southwards from Gaza City in donkey carts, rickshaws, vehicles strapped high with belongings, and on foot.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2025
The sweet scent of food carts selling guava and bananas blends with blooming jasmine, burning incense, and the fragrant fumes of auto rickshaws driving by.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2024
He listened to the constant parade of sounds outside, footsteps, bicycle bells, the incessant squawking of crows and of the horns of cycle rickshaws in the lane so narrow that taxis could not fit.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
