What does "toboggan" mean?
A long sled without runners, with the front end curled upwards, which may be pulled across snow by a cord or used to coast down hills.
Toboggan
/təˈbɑːɡ.ən/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A long sled without runners, with the front end curled upwards, which may be pulled across snow by a cord or used to coast down hills.
- Grammar: toboggan is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: coast, flit, fly, glide.
- Useful contrasts: ascend, climb, ski.
- Usage evidence: The children rode a toboggan down the hill in the snowy weather.
How to use "toboggan"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "toboggan" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "toboggan" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "toboggan" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "toboggan" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "toboggan" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "coast" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "toboggan", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A long sled without runners, with the front end curled upwards, which may be pulled across snow by a cord or used to coast down hills.
"Toboggan has not yet found its Way into the dictionaries, and there are other ways of spelling it."
- 2 a long narrow sled without runners; boards curve upward in front wordnet
- 3 A similar sled of wood, pulled by dogs, possibly with steel runners, made to transport cargo. Canada, US
"The old toboggan has been laid aside, and sleighs or waggons dash along the streets."
- 4 Something which, once it starts going (figuratively) downhill, is unstoppable until it reaches the bottom. figuratively
"McGinnity began to hit the toboggan in 1906, after he had pitched his arm off the previous year. Last season his efforts at times were painful."
- 5 A knit cap, designed to provide warmth in cold weather. Southern-US, Virginia, West
"Suppose we wish to make a pointed cap, such as used to be known as a toboggan cap, from yarn or worsted."
Verb
- 1 To slide down a hill on a toboggan or other object.
"Mr. Macaulay, the landlord, insisted upon trying to "toboggan" us down the mountain on the saddle cloth of one of the horses, an attempt that ended of course in disaster, for the surface was much too small for the three of us, and the snow too soft for the purpose."
- 2 move along on a luge or toboggan wordnet
- 3 To go downhill unstoppably until one reaches the bottom. figuratively
"A depression in one nation can become the slide on which our civilization would toboggan into economic collapse."
- 4 To fly sharply downward so as to build up speed to facilitate in-flight refueling of a faster aircraft. intransitive
"Aircraft returning to refuel at about three o'clock have tobogganed down to their spats in the mud whilst early in the morning one could bounce a crowbar on the frozen ground."
Example
"The children rode a toboggan down the hill in the snowy weather."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "toboggan"?
Common synonyms include: coast, flit, fly, glide, glissade, ice skate.
How do you use "toboggan" in a sentence?
The children rode a toboggan down the hill in the snowy weather.
How do you pronounce "toboggan"?
Pronounced /təˈbɑːɡ.ən/.
Etymology
The noun is attested since 1829, the verb since 1846. Both derive from French tabaganne, which derives from an Algonquian word, probably Mi'kmaq tepaqan or Abenaki dabôgan, influenced by similar words in other Eastern Canadian Algonquian languages. The sense of "hat" is recorded since 1929 and is short for toboggan cap (1928), a cap suitable for wearing while tobogganing.