wagon

[wag-uhn]

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.

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.

wagon

¹

/ 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

verb

1. (tr) to transport by wagon

Wagon

²

/ ˈwæɡən /

noun

1. another name for the Plough

Other Word Forms

• wagonless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wagon¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of wagon¹

C16: from Dutch wagen _wain

Idioms and Phrases

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.

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

Example Sentences

Anyone who looks at the current system shouldn't conclude that the thing to do is to circle the wagons around it,'' he said.

Read more on BBC

That was why the SNP were initially tempted to circle the wagons around Hepburn.

Read more on BBC

On the one hand, there is a temptation within the SNP to circle the wagons around Hepburn.

Read more on BBC

Young adults in hiking gear sipped beers beneath chandeliers shaped like wagon wheels as old timers with gray ponytails and cowboy hats chatted with a tattooed bartender.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

For now, the performance continues; threaten the bottom line and the tents fold, the wagons circle and the parade disappears behind closed doors.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

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