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.

---

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

---

verb

1. (tr) to transport by wagon

Wagon ² British  

/ ˈwæɡən /

noun

1. another name for the Plough

---

wagon More Idioms  

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

---

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

Explanation

Anything can be a wagon, so long as it has wheels and can be pulled. Wagons are used for transporting goods, like grains from a farm, or your little sister who wants another ride around the block. The origin of wagon is the German weg, meaning “move, carry.” You’ll see horse-drawn wagons carrying vegetables, or a wagon pulled by a tractor moving bales of hay into a barn. A paddywagon is slang for a police van that brings suspected criminals to the station. If you “fall off the wagon” that means you started drinking alcohol again after being sober for a while. And when you “hitch your wagon to a star,” you pursue a major goal.

Example Sentences

BYD says its premium sports wagon, the Denza Z9GT, can charge from 10% to 97% of battery capacity in nine minutes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Alta Dena was founded by three Stueve brothers in Monrovia at the end of World War II, with 61 cows and a milk wagon.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026

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

From Salon • Jan. 25, 2026

It featured a female panther resting its paws on a severed head, and was probably attached to the body of a carriage or wagon or to the yoke, which hitched draught animals to the vehicle.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026

She loaded the picture of her mother and the flashlight, battery charger, laptop, and satellite dish into her wagon, and tied the solar panel on top.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

Related Words

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