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sledding

[sled-ing]
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noun
  1. the state of the ground permitting use of a sled: The mountain roads offer good sledding.
  2. the going, or kind of travel, for sleds, as determined by ground and weather conditions.
  3. a going, progress, or advance in any field: The job won't be easy sledding.
  4. the act of conveying or riding on a sled.
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Origin of sledding

An Americanism dating back to 1675–85; sled + -ing1

sled

[sled]
noun
  1. a small vehicle consisting of a platform mounted on runners for use in traveling over snow or ice.
  2. a sledge.
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verb (used without object), sled·ded, sled·ding.
  1. to coast, ride, or be carried on a sled.
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verb (used with object), sled·ded, sled·ding.
  1. to convey by sled.
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Origin of sled

1350–1400; Middle English sledde < Middle Dutch; akin to German Schlitten sled, sleigh1; cf. slide
Related formssled·like, adjective
Can be confusedsled sledge sleigh
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sledding

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The young folk of Milton had plenty of sledding, and some skating.

  • He had been gathering turpentine sap, and sledding it to a "still."

  • It would be better to wait, he said, until there was sledding; then we could slip in in no time.

    The Copperhead

    Harold Frederic

  • Wouldnt it be wonderful if we did have sledding, next week anyhow?

    Betty Lee, Freshman

    David Goodger (goodger@python.org)

  • Sledding or coasting is also slow fun compared to the "bareback" sliding down a steep hill over a hard, glistening crust.

    Being a Boy

    Charles Dudley Warner

Word Origin and History for sledding

sled

n.

early 14c., "a dragged vehicle used for transport of heavy goods," from Middle Dutch sledde "sled," from Proto-Germanic *slid- (cf. Old Saxon slido, Old Norse sleði, Danish slæde, Swedish släde, Old High German slito, German Schlitten "sledge"), from the same root as Old English slidan (see slide (v.)). Not found in Old English. In reference to a sleigh used for travel or recreation, it is attested from 1580s, now mainly American English.

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sled

v.

"transport on a sled," 1718; "ride on a sled," 1780, from sled (n.). Related: Sledded; sledding.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with sledding

sledding

see easy sledding; tough sledding.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.