Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

cart

/kɑːt/ noun

In Latin: plaustrum, iumentum Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cart at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A heavy open wagon usually having two wheels and drawn by an animal.
Wheeled vehicle that can be pushed by a person; may have one or two or four wheels.
he used a handcart to carry the rocks away

verb

Draw slowly or heavily.
haul stones
Transport something in a cart.

Origin

From Middle English cart, kart, from Old Norse kartr (“wagon; cart”), merged with native Old English cræt (“a chariot; cart”), from Proto-Germanic *krattaz, *krattijô, *kradō, from Proto-Indo-European *gret- (“tracery; wattle; cradle; cage; basket”), from *ger- (“to turn, wind”). Cognate with West Frisian kret (“wheelbarrow for hauling dung”), Dutch krat, kret (“crate; wheelbarrow for hauling dung”), German Krätze (“basket; pannier”). Wider cognates include Sanskrit ग्रन्थ (grantha, “a binding”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word