pillion

Syllables: pill·ion/ˈpɪljən/

pillion noun: a pad behind the saddle of a horse for a second rider.

Noun

pillion (plural pillions)

A pad behind the saddle of a horse for a second rider.
- It was all the greater triumph to Miss Nancy Lammeter's beauty that she looked thoroughly bewitching in that costume, as, seated on the pillion behind her tall, erect father, she held one arm round him, and looked down, with open-eyed anxiety, at the treacherous snow-covered pools and puddles...1861, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XI, in Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC
A similar second saddle on a bicycle or motorcycle for a passenger.
- She was to creep out quietly […] and meet me at our usual trysting place—a spot a few hundred yards from our respective abodes. I would be there with my iron steed, and on the pillion thereof would whirl her into fairyland.1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries
The person riding in the pillion.

Synonyms:

pillionist
The cushion of a saddle.

Adverb

pillion (not comparable)

Riding behind the driving rider, as when positioned on the rump of a mount.

Verb

pillion (third-person singular simple present pillions, present participle pillioning, simple past and past participle pillioned)

(transitive) To place (a person) on a pillion.
- When he had gazed at the stars sufficiently as they shone over his mistress's window, and put her candle to bed, repaired to his own dormitory, and there, no doubt, thought of his Maria and his horse with youthful satisfaction, and how sweet it would be to have one pillioned on the other, and to...1857–1859, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, The Virginians. A Tale of the Last Century, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1858–1859, →OCLC
- A ferlie (fairy) he spied with his ee, And there he saw a lady bright, Come riding down by the Elldon tree"— a lady who had "fifty siller bells and nine" on each lock of her horse's mane, and who pillioned Thomas the Rhymer, and took him, "red blude to the knee," thorugh the mirk, mirk night, to...1933, The Sussex County Magazine - Volume 7, page 51
(intransitive) To ride on a pillion.
- I caught the train just after you went (it was a good idea, that pillion ride - though pretty awful pillioning with a suitcase and masterpiece in one's arms!) and dumped the m-p in London on Emery Walker, to be photographed half size and collotyped, 100 copies.1935 January 31, Thomas Edward Lawrence, Letter to Pat Knowles
- I met a Latvian lass who enjoyed pillioning, showed me her country and best spots — yes, the best way to enjoy a country!2011, Al Culler, Motorcycle Travels and Travails
Synonyms:

ride bitch, ride pillion
To put a pillion on a horse.
- Accordingly, he saddled and pillioned his horse, thinking he might have the honor of bringing the bride himself.1764, Dennis Donovan, Jacob Andrews Woodward, The History of the Town of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire,1735-1905
- But ordher one iv yer men to pillion the horse in a jiffy, for onct we get hoult iv the money bags, we must be off, or Tom Riddle won't lave a bone in my body but he'll break into smithereens.1871, Paul Peppergrass, The Spaewife ; Or, The Queens̓ Secret: A Story of the Reign of Elizabeth

pillion meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada

pillion in Tamil

பின்னிருக்கை

pillion in Urdu

گدی, کاٹھی

pillion in Malayalam

സ്ത്രീകളുടെ ഇരിപ്പിടം, സ്ത്രീകൾക്കുവേണ്ടിയുള്ള ചെറിയ ജീനി

pillion in Kannada

ಹಿನ್ಕುಳ್ಳಿಗ, ಹಿನ್ಮಣೆ

Examples of pillion in a sentence

But we thought she could start out by pillioning me, and then she can decide whether she still wants to learn to ride her own little bike.2018, Sue McDonagh, Summer at the Art Cafe, →ISBN:
Noisy congratulations followed ; then the swiftest horse was chosen, and saddled, bridled, and pillioned.1872, George Augustus Sala, Edmund Yates, Temple Bar - Volume 34, page 407:

Synonyms of pillion

Forms of pillion

Noun
plural	pillions
Verb
third-person singular present	pillions
present participle	pillioning
past participle	pillioned
past	pillioned

Origin of pillion

From Scottish Gaelic pillean (“little rug”), from Latin pellis (“animal skin, pelt”).

Words formed from pillion

Phrases with pillion

Words that rhyme with pillion

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about pillion

What does pillion mean?: Pillion means a pad behind the saddle of a horse for a second rider.
What is pillion in Tamil?: Pillion in Tamil is பின்னிருக்கை. See Pillion meaning in Tamil.
How do you use pillion in a sentence?: But we thought she could start out by pillioning me, and then she can decide whether she still wants to learn to ride her own little bike.
What part of speech is pillion?: Pillion can be a noun, an adverb or a verb.
How do you pronounce pillion?: Pillion is pronounced /ˈpɪljən/.
What is the plural of pillion?: The plural of pillion is pillions.

Words near pillion in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: pillion (page history and authors); pillion (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pillion (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pillion (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pillion (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pillion.wav.

Cite this entry: “pillion.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pillion. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.