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wheelbarrow

American  
[hweel-bar-oh, weel-] / ˈʰwilˌbær oʊ, ˈwil- /

noun

  1. a frame or box for conveying a load, supported at one end by a wheel or wheels, and lifted and pushed at the other by two horizontal shafts.

verb (used with object)

  1. to move or convey in a wheelbarrow.

wheelbarrow British  
/ ˈwiːlˌbærəʊ /

noun

  1. a simple vehicle for carrying small loads, typically being an open container supported by a wheel at the front and two legs and two handles behind

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to convey in a wheelbarrow

"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

Etymology

Origin of wheelbarrow

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; wheel, barrow 1

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.

"What was really bizarre about this scene was there was not only a young woman barely alive on the sofa, but there was a wheelbarrow in the living room."

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026

"I came on Tuesday. I live a 30-minute walk away, and I take the sacks back with that," he said, pointing to the wheelbarrow he acquired for the purpose.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

On the following day, Williams honored her sports skills by hosting volleyball, tennis, dodgeball, wheelbarrow races, and pickleball games.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 29, 2025

They then dropped it out the window, carried it across the river bridge in a wheelbarrow and fled in a car parked near the embankment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

He was given a wheelbarrow and told to collect human waste from the privies.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

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.