toboggan
Americannoun
-
a long, narrow, flat-bottomed sled made of a thin board curved upward and backward at the front, often with low handrails on the sides, used especially in the sport of coasting over snow or ice.
-
Also called boggin. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. a close-fitting knit cap worn in cold weather.
verb (used without object)
-
to use, or coast on, a toboggan.
-
to fall rapidly, as prices or one's fortune.
noun
-
a light wooden frame on runners used for sliding over snow and ice
-
a long narrow sledge made of a thin board curved upwards and backwards at the front
verb
Usage
What does toboggan mean? A toboggan is an old-timey sled. One kind is long and narrow with a curved-up front, and another kind has a flat platform on top of runners. Toboggan can also be used as a verb in exactly the same way that sled can be used as a verb, as in let’s go tobogganing. However, it can also mean to fall rapidly, especially in the context of nonphysical things like stock prices. Example: We found Grandpa’s old toboggan in the attic and rode it down the hill in the snow today—that thing really flies!
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
toboggansimple
-
tobogganssimple
-
have tobogganedperfect
-
has tobogganedperfect
-
am tobogganingprogressive
-
are tobogganingprogressive
-
is tobogganingprogressive
-
have been tobogganingperfect progressive
-
has been tobogganingperfect progressive
Past
-
tobogganedsimple
-
had tobogganedperfect
-
was tobogganingprogressive
-
were tobogganingprogressive
-
had been tobogganingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of toboggan
First recorded in 1820–30; from Canadian French tabagane, from Maliseet-Passamaquoddy tʰapákən, Mi'kmaq topaĝan (equivalent to unrecorded Proto-Algonquian weta·pye·- “to drag a cord” + -kan- “instrument for”)
Explanation
A toboggan is a type of sled that's light and thin. When you use such a sled, you're tobogganing. If you live somewhere that gets snow in the winter, you might already know what a toboggan is: a thin sled with curving boards in the front that originated with Native Canadians. Tobogganing is a popular winter sport and a lot of fun. Tobogganing sometimes refers to luging, which is a very similar winter sport. You can go extremely fast on a toboggan. If you ride a toboggan well, maybe you'll end up in the Winter Olympics.
Vocabulary lists containing toboggan
Olympics Vocabulary for Champions
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Native American History - Introductory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Shortly after finishing “Mildred Pierce,” in April 1945, while shooting “Danger Signal,” Blythe broke her back when a toboggan on which she was riding overturned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026
Families race down a toboggan run that weaves through the forest and, when winter's here, there's even a small ski resort.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2023
Rave to ski patrol members Audrey and Chris, who provided on-site first aid, a quick toboggan ride to the first-aid station, medical assessment and incident reporting.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2023
Guests can then return to central Davos by foot, cable car or a free toboggan that mazes through forests straight out of a fairy tale.
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2023
Higher and higher the toboggan went, but also slower and slower.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Scores of daytrippers from the capital, Santiago, took to skis, snowboards and toboggans to make the most of the thick powdery snow, with their faces obscured entirely by a combination of masks and goggles.
From Reuters ● Jul. 2, 2021
Summer brings sunbathers, picnickers and sixth-formers sat in circles, while in winter, on those rare occasions it snows, people drag in toboggans.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 5, 2020
Autumn is faded blue jeans, oversized sweatshirts and stringy toboggans from a forgotten day.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 26, 2018
The winners stepped forward to collect their trophies, which were shaped like miniature wooden toboggans.
From New York Times ● Jan. 17, 2017
“You could toboggan very well. Excellent Canadian toboggans are sold in Montreux. Ochs Brothers sell toboggans. They import their own toboggans.”
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
As he waited to be tobogganed down the mountain by ski patrol, she followed her children Moses and Apple down the mountain, testifying that she was accustomed to having things done for her.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 31, 2023
Owens also said that Sanderson posted a “very happy, smiling picture” of himself online, being tobogganed down post-crash.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
Some of my favorite “Calvin and Hobbes” cartoons were those where the companions tobogganed through the woods.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 25, 2017
By the end of their nine-hour workday, the red-jacketed patrollers had tobogganed out multiple knee injuries and a broken ankle, responded to a few crashes with trees and patched one bloody chin.
From Washington Post
The little black Adélies, with a shocking white ring around their eyes, made a comical sight for the crew as they tobogganed off the icebergs into the water.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Each year Ottawa, Canada's capital city, hosts a Winterlude festival that celebrates the fun that snow and ice can bring, with tobogganing and ice sculptures, as well as skating along the canal.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2023
Snow Land is a little more interesting, with tobogganing penguins to avoid around its frozen lake.
From The Verge ● Aug. 8, 2022
Street tobogganing is just one of many memorable activities families can experience on the Portuguese island of Madeira, part of an archipelago of the same name that includes three other islands.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 4, 2022
Ice-skating, tobogganing, a particularly inglorious game of Red Rover: these are all things that took an unfavorable toll on my face.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2015
We’d get a piece of cardboard and go tobogganing down the depot’s narrow staircase.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
