rocking horse

American  

noun

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

---

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

---

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

The idea for “Split-Rocker” came to Koons when he noticed his son’s rocking horse in one corner of a room, and a rocking dinosaur in another.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 2025

"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

Spacious, clean, and bright, the long room had a pair of beds, shelves crowded with children’s books, freestanding wardrobes, tidy dressers, a unicorn rocking horse, multiple toy chests, and a hen in a cage.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull