toboggan

American  

[tuh-bog-uhn] / təˈbɒg ən /

noun

1. a long, narrow, flat-bottomed sled made of a thin board curved upward and backward at the front, often with low handrails on the sides, used especially in the sport of coasting over snow or ice.

2. Also called boggin.  Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. a close-fitting knit cap worn in cold weather.

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verb (used without object)

1. to use, or coast on, a toboggan.

2. to fall rapidly, as prices or one's fortune.

toboggan British  

/ təˈbɒɡən /

noun

1. a light wooden frame on runners used for sliding over snow and ice

2. a long narrow sledge made of a thin board curved upwards and backwards at the front

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verb

1. (intr) to ride on a toboggan

Usage

What does toboggan mean? A toboggan is an old-timey sled. One kind is long and narrow with a curved-up front, and another kind has a flat platform on top of runners.Toboggan can also be used as a verb in exactly the same way that sled can be used as a verb, as in let’s go tobogganing. However, it can also mean to fall rapidly, especially in the context of nonphysical things like stock prices.Example: We found Grandpa’s old toboggan in the attic and rode it down the hill in the snow today—that thing really flies!

Other Word Forms

• tobogganer noun
• tobogganist noun

Etymology

Origin of toboggan

First recorded in 1820–30; from Canadian French tabagane, from Maliseet-Passamaquoddy tʰapákən, Mi'kmaq topaĝan (equivalent to unrecorded Proto-Algonquian weta·pye·- “to drag a cord” + -kan- “instrument for”)