caravan

1 of 2

noun

car·​a·​van ˈker-ə-ˌvan 

ˈka-rə-

1

a

: a company of travelers on a journey through desert or hostile regions

also : a train of pack animals

b

: a group of vehicles traveling together (as in a file)

2

a

: a covered wagon or motor vehicle equipped as traveling living quarters

b

British : trailer sense 1b

caravan

2 of 2

verb

caravanned or caravaned; caravanning or caravaning

intransitive verb

: to travel in a caravan

Synonyms

Noun

• armada
• cavalcade
• fleet
• line
• motorcade
• train

Examples of caravan in a Sentence

Noun

a funeral caravan slowly making its way down the street

bought a caravan and drove cross-country to California

Verb

We caravaned to the campsite.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

To address these risks, traders pooled their resources and traveled in caravans. —Abdo Riani, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025

Migrant caravans tend to be broken up by Mexican officials, with migrants proceeding on in smaller groups or as individual families. —Kristen Waggoner, Newsweek, 21 Jan. 2025

Verb

Each spring, his parents and five siblings would caravan with a couple of other families from South Texas to the Oregon-Idaho border. —Matthew Odam, Austin American-Statesman, 9 Dec. 2024

Supporters caravaned along Helena’s downtown, honking horns. —J. David McSwane, ProPublica, 7 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Italian caravana, from Persian kārvān

First Known Use

Noun

1588, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1885, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

caravan

noun

car·​a·​van

ˈkar-ə-ˌvan

1

a

: a group (as of merchants or pilgrims) traveling together on a long journey through desert or dangerous regions

b

: a group of pack animals or of vehicles traveling together one behind the other

2

: a covered vehicle

especially : one equipped as traveling living quarters