toboggan
Syllables: to·bog·ganUK/təˈbɒɡ.ən//təˈbɑːɡ.ən/
toboggan noun: 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.
Noun
toboggan (plural toboggans)
- 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.1877, John Russell Bartlett, Dictionary of Americanisms, 2nd enlarged edition
- Nothing could be more exciting and exhilarating than a slide, on sleigh or toboggan, from the lofty summit of the ice-mound or cone down to its base.1882, Louis Prosper Bender, Old and New Canada. 1753-1844: Historic Scenes and Social Pictures, Or, The Life of Joseph-Francois Perrault
- A similar sled of wood, pulled by dogs, possibly with steel runners, made to transport cargo.
- The old toboggan has been laid aside, and sleighs or waggons dash along the streets.1847, Abraham Gesner, New Brunswick; with Notes for Emigrants: Comprehending the Early History, an Account of the Indians, Settlement, Topography, Statistics, Commerce, Timber, Manufactures...
- These animals are harnessed by a padded collar to a light flat sleigh, of skins stretched across a frame of thin wood, called a toboggan.1889, John G. Donkin, Trooper and Redskin in the Far North-west: Recollections of Life in the North-west Mounted Police
- Something which, once it starts going (figuratively) downhill, is unstoppable until it reaches the bottom.
- 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.1907, Joe Vila, The Sporting News, read in Gordon H. Fleming, The Unforgettable Season (2006)
- If we were to hit the toboggan of a depression, wages would drop.1948, U.S. House of Representatives, Hearing before the Committee on Banking and Currency, on S.J. Res. 157, joint resolution to aid in protecting the Nation's economy against inflationary pressures....
- A knit cap, designed to provide warmth in cold weather.
- Suppose we wish to make a pointed cap, such as used to be known as a toboggan cap, from yarn or worsted.1915, William Rush Dunton, Occupation therapy
- Sissy bounded back in dressed in a heavy sweater and toboggan.1992, Wallace Neal Briggs, Riverside Remembered
- Synonyms:
- toboggan cap, watch cap, beanie, tuque
Verb
toboggan (third-person singular simple present toboggans, present participle tobogganing or tobogganning, simple past and past participle tobogganed or tobogganned)
- 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.1887, E. Katherine (Emily Katherine) Bates, A Year in the Great Republic
- The aspect of this patient was greatly changed for the better; she was able to skate, toboggan, and mount 500 feet of Maloja Pass without fatigue.1888, Alfred Thomas Tucker Wise, Alpine winter in its medical aspects
- To go downhill unstoppably until one reaches the bottom.
- A depression in one nation can become the slide on which our civilization would toboggan into economic collapse.1945, Emil Rieve, International Labor Standards, A Key to World Security, pamphlet
- I can't win, can I? You think I'm posh and my folks think I'm tobogganing down-market faster than the royal family.2006, Keith Dixon, Altered Life
- Synonyms:
- toboggan down
- To fly sharply downward so as to build up speed to facilitate in-flight refueling of a faster aircraft.
- 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.1961, Wings, volumes 31-33, page 11
- How did a piston engine tanker refuel a faster jet bomber? It "tobogganed" - the refueling connection would be made high up and then the bomber and tanker flew "downhill" together enabling the tanker to pick up more speed.2005, The Mobility Forum: The Journal of the Air Mobility Command, page 21
toboggan meaning in Tamil
toboggan in Tamil
- சறுக்கூர்தி
Examples of toboggan in a sentence
- The “toboggan” is a light flat sleigh, used by the Canadian aborigines to bring home over the snow the spoils of the hunt.1884, Henry Chadwick, The Sports and Pastimes of American Boys: A Guide and Text-book of Games of the Play-ground, the Parlor, and the...
- The toboggan may be described as a flat plank turned up at one end.1885, A. T. Tucker (Alfred Thomas Tucker) Wise, Alpine Winter in Its Medical Aspects: With Notes on Davos Platz, Wiesen, St. Moritz, and...
- A toboggan consists of two pieces of bark joined side by side and curved up at the front.1887, Marjory Kennedy-Fraser, David Kennedy, David Kennedy: The Scottish Singer : Reminiscences of His Life and Work:
- Trenance Park has gardens, a toboggan run, miniature golf and the indoor delights of Water World with its tropical fun pool and flumes.2006, Rita Tregellas Pope, Landmark Visitors Guide Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly:
Synonyms of toboggan
Forms of toboggan
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | toboggans |
| alternative form | tobogin |
| alternative form | toboggin |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | toboggans |
| present participle | tobogganing |
| present participle | tobogganning |
| past participle | tobogganed |
| past | tobogganed |
| past participle | tobogganned |
| past | tobogganned |
Origin of toboggan
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.
Words formed from toboggan
Phrases with toboggan
Words that rhyme with toboggan
Questions about toboggan
- What does toboggan mean?
- Toboggan means 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.
- What is toboggan in Tamil?
- Toboggan in Tamil is சறுக்கூர்தி. See Toboggan meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use toboggan in a sentence?
- The “toboggan” is a light flat sleigh, used by the Canadian aborigines to bring home over the snow the spoils of the hunt.
- What part of speech is toboggan?
- Toboggan can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce toboggan?
- Toboggan is pronounced /təˈbɒɡ.ən/ (UK).
- What is the plural of toboggan?
- The plural of toboggan is toboggans.
Words near toboggan in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: toboggan (page history and authors); toboggan (Tamil 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:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-toboggan.ogg, en-au-toboggan.ogg.
Cite this entry: “toboggan.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/toboggan. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.