Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wagon

/ˈwæɡən/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.90 in modern English

Syllables
wag-on
IPA
/ˈwæɡən/
9
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Abbreviation of toy wagon; A child's riding toy, with the same structure as a wagon (sense 1), pulled or steered by a long handle attached to the front.

noun

A shopping cart.

American usage

noun

A vehicle (wagon) designed to transport goods or people on railway.

noun

Ellipsis of dinner wagon (“set of light shelves mounted on castors so that it can be pushed around a dining room and used for serving”).

noun

Ellipsis of station wagon (“type of automobile”); (occasionally, loosely) any car, van, or light truck.

Australian usage; Canadian usage; American usage; Informal

noun

Term of abuse.

Dated; Derogatory; Slang

Example Sentences

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Dutch wagen, from Old Dutch *wagan, from Proto-West Germanic *wagn, from Proto-Germanic *wagnaz (“wagon”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to transport”). Generally displaced native cognate wain, from Old English wæġn, of which it is a doublet. Related also to way, weigh. Sense 8 (“woman of loose morals; obnoxious woman”) is probably a derogatory and jocular reference to a woman being “ridden”, that is, mounted for the purpose of sexual intercourse. The verb is derived from the noun.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *weǵʰ-, *wagan, *wagn, *wagnaz

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈwæɡən/
  • British English: /ˈwæɡən/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce wagon?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwæɡən/.
What does wagon mean?
A heavier four-wheeled (normally horse-drawn) vehicle designed to carry goods (or sometimes people).
Where does wagon come from?
It is traced to Proto-West Germanic.

How to pronounce wagon

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wagon”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈwæɡən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “wagon”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “wagon” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.