rocking horse

American  

noun

rocking horses plural

1. a toy horse, as of wood, mounted on rockers or springs, on which children may ride; hobbyhorse.

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rocking horse British  

noun

1. a toy horse mounted on a pair of rockers on which a child can rock to and fro in a seesaw movement

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• rocking horses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rocking horse

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

Set against the distant Blue Ridge Mountains, it depicts a favorite Southern activity—akin to her widely admired maple-sugaring paintings set up north—embellished with details like the tiny rocking horse on her front porch.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

"My nana and grandad, who have passed away, used to have a rocking horse so I thought that would be a lovely memory for her tree."

From BBC • Nov. 22, 2024

She stacks up miniature versions of banal furnishings — a chair, a sofa, a rocking horse — glued one on top of the other.

From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2023

Among them were original paintings, photographs from her childhood and an antique rocking horse that, according to family lore, Richard Nixon rode on as a baby.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2022

Kendra reached up into the hatch and felt around inside the hollow rocking horse.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull