cart

1 of 2

noun

ˈkärt 

plural carts

1

: a heavy usually horse-drawn 2-wheeled vehicle used for farming or transporting freight

2

: a lightweight 2-wheeled vehicle drawn by a horse, pony, or dog

3

a

: a small wheeled vehicle see golf cart, grocery cart, shopping cart sense 1

b

: a table with wheels that is used especially for serving food

I make conversation after asking to look at the menu: That apple tart on the dessert cart—who made it, and what's in the crust?

—Corby Kummer

4

: a temporary record of items selected for purchase from an online vendor : shopping cart sense 2

You head back to your favorite Web shopping site, and the stuff you crammed in your cart last time is still there, waiting for you to buy it or dump it.

—Neil Randall

cart

2 of 2

verb

carted; carting; carts

transitive verb

1

: to carry or convey in or as if in a cart

buses to cart the kids to and from school

—L. S. Gannett

2

: to take or drag away without ceremony or by force

—usually used with off

they carted him off to jail

carter noun

Synonyms

Noun

• wagon
• wain

Verb

• bear
• carry
• convey
• ferry
• haul
• lug
• pack
• tote
• transport

Examples of cart in a Sentence

Noun

a cart piled up with hay

Verb

We carted some dirt to the garden.

I carted all the books home.

He carted the bags away.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In the past month alone, more than 300 Amazon shoppers have added it to their carts. —Nicol Natale, People.com, 18 Jan. 2025

These items all deserve a spot in your Amazon cart. —Rosie Marder, Travel + Leisure, 17 Jan. 2025

Verb

Within minutes, Rice was carted off to the locker room, his hands and a towel covering his face. —Nate Taylor, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025

The novel describes, among other barbaric acts, how soldiers and police threw bodies carelessly into trucks that carted them off to be hidden or burned. —Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, probably from Old Norse kartr; akin to Old English cræt cart

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cart

• crash cart
• go-cart
• golf cart
• grocery cart
• put the cart before the horse
• shopping cart
• tea cart
• upset the apple cart

Kids Definition

cart

1 of 2 noun

ˈkärt 

1

: a heavy two-wheeled wagon usually pulled by a horse

2

: a light usually two-wheeled vehicle

pony cart

cart

2 of 2 verb

: to carry in or as if in a cart

carter noun