sled
Americannoun
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sleds
plural
-
a small vehicle consisting of a platform mounted on runners for use in traveling over snow or ice.
-
a sledge.
verb (used without object)
-
sleds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sledded,
past participle, past
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sledding
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
sleds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sledded,
past participle, past
-
sledding
present participle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sledsimple
-
sledssimple
-
have sleddedperfect
-
has sleddedperfect
-
am sleddingprogressive
-
are sleddingprogressive
-
is sleddingprogressive
-
have been sleddingperfect progressive
-
has been sleddingperfect progressive
Past
-
sleddedsimple
-
had sleddedperfect
-
was sleddingprogressive
-
were sleddingprogressive
-
had been sleddingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sled
1350–1400; Middle English sledde < Middle Dutch; akin to German Schlitten sled, sleigh; cf. slide
Explanation
If you want to slide down a snowy hill, hop on a sled! A sled can be simple and plastic, or it can be more complicated, with wood and metal runners, like the kind that huskies pull across the tundra. Mush! Sleds sit on runners made to glide over an icy or snowy surface. Large sleds can seat several riders and are pulled by one or more horses, while dog sleds pull one or two people and are usually pulled by several dogs. The sled you get out of the garage in the winter is made of plastic, wood, or metal, and it's meant to slide fast downhill. In the U.K., the word for a sled is sledge.
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:
The company’s global events can draw tens of thousands of athletes, testing their strength and endurance as they cycle through challenges like rowing, sandbag lunges, sled pushes and burpees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
In each Hyrox race, participants alternate between running a kilometre and doing fitness exercises, such as the sled push, burpee jumps, indoor rowing, and lunges while carrying a sandbag.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Northern sled dogs became compact and heavily coated for cold conditions, while hunting dogs near the equator tended to be leaner and better suited to heat.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
The actor added that he imagined turning the fictional home into a “movie fun house” where people could sled down the stairs just like Kevin does in the movie.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026
Now he turned around to face the sled—so he was facing away from the direction we had to travel when we left—and watched us load the sled.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
The 105 surviving crew members abandoned the vessels and began a desperate attempt to reach safety, traveling along the west coast of King William Island, Nunavut, while hauling boats on sleds.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
After being stuck for two years, and with 24 already dead, 105 survivors tried to save themselves by walking across the frozen sea while pulling heavy sleds in -20C temperatures.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
Humphries and brakewoman Jasmine Jones, a former USC track star, finished third behind a pair of German sleds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2026
But their partnership and matrimonial bliss dissolves as soon as their sleds hit the track.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
Behind them came the other dog teams pulling sleds that were each loaded with 900 pounds of stores and gear.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
She and her sister skated on a frozen pond in the yard and sledded down the hills.
From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2022
The three spies soon parachuted successfully to the ground, landing in waist-high snow, and sledded downhill, heading toward Innsbruck.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2022
"I’ve been trying to juggle," she said as her 7-year-old sledded on the hill outside and her 4-year-old didn’t want to go out.
From Fox News ● Jan. 7, 2022
We sledded when we would’ve been chipping ice.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 8, 2021
“We sledded all the way to Big Creek,” I told him.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
In warmer weather, you can rent kayaks, wave runners and paddleboards or take a seasonal cruise aboard the Lake Lawn Queen; winter brings cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, ice fishing and sledding.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
The partnership between people and dogs became especially specialized in the Arctic, where Indigenous communities developed highly sophisticated cultures centered on dog sledding.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
While winning that case would be uphill sledding, the report may have ultimately been a useful development for him.
From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2026
Through their court filings, both recount head injuries sustained while sledding and lingering symptoms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026
“Like, four years ago. I was in a sledding accident.”
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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.
