wagon

American  

[wag-uhn] / ˈwæg ən /

noun

1. any of various kinds of four-wheeled vehicles designed to be pulled or having its own motor and ranging from a child's toy to a commercial vehicle for the transport of heavy loads, delivery, etc.

   Synonyms:

   lorry, dray, truck, wain, van, cart

2. Informal. station wagon.

3. a police van for transporting prisoners; patrol wagon.

   The fight broke up before the wagon arrived.

4. (initial capital letter) Charles's Wain.

5. British. a railway freight car or flatcar.

6. a baby carriage.

7. Archaic. a chariot.

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verb (used with object)

1. to transport or convey by wagon.

verb (used without object)

1. Also to proceed or haul goods by wagon.

   It was strenuous to wagon up the hill.

idioms

1. hitch one's wagon to a star, to have a high ambition, ideal, or purpose.

   It is better to hitch one's wagon to a star than to wander aimlessly through life.

2. fix someone's wagon, to get even with or punish someone.

   He'd better mind his own business or I'll really fix his wagon.

3. on the wagon, abstaining from a current or former bad habit, as smoking, overeating, excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages, or taking drugs: Also on the water wagon; on the water cart.

   She's been on the wagon for a month, now, so please don't offer her a drink.

4. off the / one's wagon,

   1. again drinking alcoholic beverages after a period of abstinence.

      His failure to show up at work is one more sign that he’s fallen off the wagon again.

   2. returning to an unhealthy or bad habit.

      I’m usually on a diet, but sometimes I go off my wagon.

5. circle the wagons. circle.

wagon ¹ British  

/ ˈwæɡən /

noun

1. any of various types of wheeled vehicles, ranging from carts to lorries, esp a vehicle with four wheels drawn by a horse, tractor, etc, and used for carrying crops, heavy loads, etc

2. a railway freight truck, esp an open one

3. a child's four-wheeled cart

4. a police van for transporting prisoners and those arrested

5. See station wagon

6. an obsolete word for chariot

7. informal no longer abstaining from alcoholic drinks

8. informal abstaining from alcoholic drinks

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verb

1. (tr) to transport by wagon

Wagon ² British  

/ ˈwæɡən /

noun

1. another name for the Plough

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wagon More Idioms  

1. see fix someone's wagon; hitch one's wagon; on the bandwagon; on the wagon.

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Other Word Forms

• wagonless adjective

Etymology

Origin of wagon

First recorded in 1505–15; from Dutch wagen; cognate with Old English wægn “farm wagon”; wain

Example Sentences

Alta Dena was founded by three Stueve brothers in Monrovia at the end of World War II, with 61 cows and a milk wagon.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026

Our wood-paneled station wagon will be waiting at the other end.

From Salon • Jan. 25, 2026

It featured a female panther resting its paws on a severed head, and was probably attached to the body of a carriage or wagon or to the yoke, which hitched draught animals to the vehicle.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026

It was also a big move away from the midcentury modern aesthetic that Harbour enjoyed in his first home—a one-bedroom loft inside a former wagon factory in New York’s trendy NoHo neighborhood.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 12, 2026

After two tries, he was up in the wagon, among the oats, whimpering with joy and confusion and looking everywhere for his tail.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Related Words

• car
• caravan
• carriage
• cart
• chariot
• lorry
• van