stagecoach

American  

[steyj-kohch] / ˈsteɪdʒˌkoʊtʃ /

noun

• stagecoaches
  plural

1. a horse-drawn coach that formerly traveled regularly over a fixed route with passengers, parcels, etc.

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stagecoach British  

/ ˈsteɪdʒˌkəʊtʃ /

noun

1. a large four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle formerly used to carry passengers, mail, etc, on a regular route between towns and cities

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• stagecoaches
  plural

Etymology

Origin of stagecoach

First recorded in 1630–40; stage + coach

Explanation

Before trains were invented, you might have taken a stagecoach to your Grandma's house. A stagecoach was a covered carriage pulled by horses. Once a system of reliable roads was established during the 17th and 18th centuries, travel by stagecoach became common. As roads improved over time, the length of stagecoach journeys became shorter. Still, in 1766 it took two full days to travel by stagecoach from New York to Philadelphia. The invention of railroads in the mid-1800s also meant the end of the stagecoach.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stagecoach stagecoaches

Consider Joseph Morgan III. Born in 1780 into a Welsh immigrant family that became successful Massachusetts farmers, he sold the farm and invested in a Hartford, Conn., coffeehouse and stagecoach line.

From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026

From there, it was hauled by stagecoach to the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Coulterville, where horse riders grabbed it for the last 55-mile leg of the journey.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025

He’s captured after the stagecoach itself sees a calamitous end.

From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2023

Bell parked his truck at the end of a long dirt road, near an old stagecoach stop.

From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2023

Newcomers keep arriving—by ship, canal boat, and stagecoach.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

Mr. Crytzer’s narrative hums along with the National Road’s traffic as he colorfully describes Pony Express riders, stagecoaches, Conestoga wagons and many thousands of migrants wending ever westward, feeding the nation’s economic and territorial growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

Banners with photos of veterans and dead soldiers peer over sidewalks and legend has it that Jesse James lived here in an age of stagecoaches and outlaws.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2024

The Booth’s art collection is vast, with about a dozen galleries showcasing paintings, photographs, sculptures and artifacts that include two full-size stagecoaches.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2022

The road once carried stagecoaches during the Gold Rush, twisting its way through what is now a national forest and an area of the Sierra Nevada known for snowmobiling.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 31, 2021

We would ride down villains who robbed stagecoaches or in other ways threatened damsels in distress, whom we could save and, of course, never kiss, but ride off at the end of our imagination.

From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen