rickshaw

or rick·sha

[ rik-shaw, -shah ]
See synonyms for rickshaw on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a small, two-wheeled, cartlike passenger vehicle with a fold-down top, pulled by one person, formerly used widely in Japan and China.

Origin of rickshaw

1
First recorded in 1875–80; by contraction of jinrikisha
  • Also rik·i·sha, rik·shaw .

Words Nearby rickshaw

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rickshaw in a sentence

  • Somehow there was no conveyance in waiting, not even a rickshaw, so Maynebrace and his flag-lieutenant had to walk.

    The Dreadnought of the Air | Percy F. Westerman
  • The rickshaw man's life, I was told in Japan, is several years shorter than that of the average man.

  • It takes more than half an hours rickshaw drive to get to the Embassy, where I called this morning.

    A Journal from Japan | Marie Carmichael Stopes
  • There had been very little shelling, and I had taken my first outing in the shape of a rickshaw drive during the afternoon.

    South African Memories | Lady Sarah Wilson
  • The native name for the mail-cart-like hand-carriage I called a rickshaw at first.

    A Journal from Japan | Marie Carmichael Stopes

British Dictionary definitions for rickshaw

rickshaw

ricksha (ˈrɪkʃə)

/ (ˈrɪkʃɔː) /


noun
  1. Also called: jinrikisha a small two-wheeled passenger vehicle drawn by one or two men, used in parts of Asia

  2. Also called: trishaw a similar vehicle with three wheels, propelled by a man pedalling as on a tricycle

Origin of rickshaw

1
C19: shortened from jinrikisha

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012