Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A one- or two-wheeled vehicle with handles at the rear, used to convey small loads.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A barrow with one wheel or more, on which it runs.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A light vehicle for conveying small loads. It has two handles and one wheel, and is rolled by a single person.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A small, one-wheeled (rarely two-wheeled) cart with handles at one end for transporting small loads.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb transport in a wheelbarrow
  • noun a cart for carrying small loads; has handles and one or more wheels

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English

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Examples

Comments

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  • David Cochrane's comment on MyFavoriteWord.com, has added a new wrinkle to my rather quotidian knowledge of and interest in the word:

    "My favorite word is wheelbarrow.

    When I was in the sixth grade, one of the more common practices of the Headmaster (albeit a one-room, one-teacher school, incorporating grades one to eight, or 42 children) was to have a child stand and read to the rest of the students from a selected book.

    I was not an avid reader at that time, being more inclined to rough sports, etc. However, on this occasion it was my turn to read aloud to the other students.

    I had problems in pronouncing a particular word and was told "Just say wheelbarrow if you don't know it, Cochrane." That embarrassing event rankled within me and spurred me on. I determined to become proficient in my use and comprehension of the English Language. I now hold the degree Bachelor in Communication, comprising a double major in Journalism with a minor in Public Relations."

    Wheelbarrow was, and is, a magic word to me.

    September 29, 2007

  • I want an example of him replacing some word wheelbarrow and it coming out hilariously.

    Hidden on the roof, the criminal held her ankles up and thought about doing it defenestration style.

    Which is about a murderer, but when he says it with wheelbarrow, it becomes something else entirely.

    Hidden on the roof, the criminal held her ankles up and though about doing it wheelbarrow style.

    September 30, 2007

  • Wheelbarrow, from wheelbarrel, a portmanteau of <i>wheel</i> and <i>barrel</i>.

    February 28, 2020