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

Don’t stop to question it—just add it to your cart and give it to anyone who loves throwing together a casual outfit for brunch dates and coffee runs. —Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 18 Dec. 2024

Google Veo 2: Five Use Cases Whittemore goes into five elements of how Google Veo 2 is going to turn over the apple cart. —John Werner, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

Verb

Fake countdown timers that create a false sense of urgency, forcing users to add an item to cart to reveal the price, and difficult cancellations are just a few examples of manipulative design patterns. —Forrester, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024

Chiefs Patrick Mahomes Exits Game With Apparent Leg Injury Mahomes was replaced by Carson Wentz for the remainder of the game, and he was shown being carted to the locker room following the injury reveal. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024

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