wagon

[ wag-uhn ]

/ ˈwæg ən /

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noun

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.

Informal. station wagon.

a police van for transporting prisoners; patrol wagon: The fight broke up before the wagon arrived.

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

British. a railway freight car or flatcar.

a baby carriage.

Archaic. a chariot.

verb (used with object)

to transport or convey by wagon.

verb (used without object)

Also especially British, waggon . to proceed or haul goods by wagon: It was strenuous to wagon up the hill.

OTHER WORDS FOR wagon

1 cart, van, wain, truck, dray, lorry.

See synonyms for wagon on Thesaurus.com

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Idioms about wagon

circle the wagons. circle (def. 23).

fix someone's wagon, Slang. to get even with or punish someone: He'd better mind his own business or I'll really fix his wagon.

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.

off the / one's wagon, Slang.

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.
returning to an unhealthy or bad habit: I’m usually on a diet, but sometimes I go off my wagon.

on the wagon, Slang. abstaining from a current or former bad habit, as smoking, overeating, excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages, or taking drugs: She's been on the wagon for a month, now, so please don't offer her a drink.Also on the water wagon; British, on the water cart.

Origin of wagon

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

OTHER WORDS FROM wagon

wag·on·less, adjective

Words nearby wagon

Wagner, Wagner Act, Wagnerian, Wagner-Jauregg, Wagner, Richard, wagon, wagonage, wagon boss, wagoner, wagonette, wagon-headed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wagon in a sentence

Washington somehow won three of its first four games before the wheels fell off the wagon.
Ranking Washington football seasons in the Daniel Snyder era from least to most fun|Scott Allen|January 14, 2021|Washington Post
Most of these trails are old wagon roads, so they’re relatively flat and pleasant.
The Best Winter Hikes in National Parks|Megan Michelson|December 31, 2020|Outside Online
Then, in another photo, the boy sits in a wagon as his grandfather, in his mask, pulls him along.
A 28-year-old ‘nerd’ in Baltimore invented a new type of mask, and tapped into the strangeness of this 2020 holiday season|Theresa Vargas|November 18, 2020|Washington Post
In Detroit, a rumor spread that a wagon that brought a news camera into the counting center was smuggling ballots.
The Trailer: Partisan realities clash, again, this time on the vote count|David Weigel|November 5, 2020|Washington Post

He would reach Miami two days later, hopping 24 rides from drivers that included a pastor, a gun-toting salesman and a mom-driven station wagon with six clamoring kids in the back.
Thumbs up for three new books that capture hitchhiking’s adventurous spirit|Jen Rose Smith|October 30, 2020|Washington Post
He even looks down to address a toddler who is noisily playing in a red wagon.
The Ugly Truth About Cory Booker, New Jersey’s Golden Boy|Olivia Nuzzi|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Two days later, FBI agents found the burned station wagon that the volunteers had been driving.
When the Right to Vote Wasn’t a Right|Scott Porch|June 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The base resembled a wagon circle of armored vehicles with some razor wire strung around them.
We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night|Nathan Bradley Bethea|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The blue and white station wagon was in the driveway, and when he got in behind the wheel Mark was still with him.
Gordie Howe Hockey’s Greatest War Horse|W.C. Heinz|May 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They pulled the elegant wagon on a slow pace along for a block and then made a U-turn beneath the Palmetto overpass.
Mardi Gras Indian Chief Larry Bannock’s Final Ride|Jason Berry|May 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The little pig in the box felt himself being lifted out of the wagon.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
He had come down after the wagon load, which had to be pitched on again rather more deliberately.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
The challenge was accepted and the hay-wagon driven round and the trial commenced.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
For an Indian to sell a horse and wagon in the San Jacinto valley was not an easy thing, unless he would give them away.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Alessandro had hard work to give civil answers to the men who wished to buy Benito and the wagon for quarter of their value.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson

British Dictionary definitions for wagon (1 of 2)

wagon

waggon

/ (ˈwæɡən) /

noun

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

British a railway freight truck, esp an open one

US and Canadian a child's four-wheeled cart

US and Canadian a police van for transporting prisoners and those arrested

mainly US and Canadian See station wagon

an obsolete word for chariot

off the wagon informal no longer abstaining from alcoholic drinks

on the wagon informal abstaining from alcoholic drinks

verb

(tr) to transport by wagon

Derived forms of wagon

wagonless or waggonless, adjective

Word Origin for wagon

C16: from Dutch wagen wain

British Dictionary definitions for wagon (2 of 2)

Wagon

Waggon

/ (ˈwæɡən) /

noun

the Wagon another name for the Plough

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with wagon

wagon

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

wagon

OTHER WORDS FOR wagon

Idioms about wagon

Origin of wagon

OTHER WORDS FROM wagon

Words nearby wagon

Words related to wagon

How to use wagon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wagon (1 of 2)

waggon

Derived forms of wagon

Word Origin for wagon

British Dictionary definitions for wagon (2 of 2)

Waggon

Other Idioms and Phrases with wagon