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

She walked around to the back of the station wagon and opened the door.

From Literature

My best friend Jeb and I used to sit at that crossroads when we were younger, waiting for something interesting to come along, like an automobile or a circus wagon.

From Literature

From an Iowa farm family that came west in a covered wagon, Con Keeler had grown up tinkering with radios and could cobble together crude bugs using telephone and hearing aid parts.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From Salon

The little wagon retains the flat-four’s characteristic droning when it revs out, as when merging with highway traffic.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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