toboggan

[ tuh-bog-uhn ]
See synonyms for toboggan on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a long, narrow, flat-bottomed sled made of a thin board curved upward and backward at the front, often with low handrails on the sides, used especially in the sport of coasting over snow or ice.

  2. Also called bog·gin [bog-uhn] /ˈbɒg ən/ .Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. a close-fitting knit cap worn in cold weather.

verb (used without object)
  1. to use, or coast on, a toboggan.

  2. to fall rapidly, as prices or one's fortune.

Origin of toboggan

1
First recorded in 1820–30; from Canadian French tabagane, from Maliseet-Passamaquoddy tʰapákən, Mi'kmaq topaĝan (equivalent to unrecorded Proto-Algonquian weta·pye·- “to drag a cord” + -kan- “instrument for”)

Other words from toboggan

  • to·bog·gan·er, to·bog·gan·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use toboggan in a sentence

  • They tobogganed down hills without a brake at the imminent peril of their lives.

  • At last the sledge came to a clear run and tobogganed into the snow-filled valley, turning eastward towards its outlet.

    The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
  • She was, however, "close aboard" Cap'n Ira as he tobogganed down the sandy way.

    Sheila of Big Wreck Cove | James A. Cooper
  • He walked back and halted in the inky shadow of the wall down which Nick Matthews had tobogganed.

    The Plow-Woman | Eleanor Gates
  • More cries and shouts from the tobogganed beginners, and yells and laughs from their audience.

    The Woodcraft Girls at Camp | Lillian Elizabeth Roy

British Dictionary definitions for toboggan

toboggan

/ (təˈbɒɡən) /


noun
  1. a light wooden frame on runners used for sliding over snow and ice

  2. a long narrow sledge made of a thin board curved upwards and backwards at the front

verb-gans, -ganing or -ganed
  1. (intr) to ride on a toboggan

Origin of toboggan

1
C19: from Canadian French, from Algonquian; related to Abnaki udābāgan

Derived forms of toboggan

  • tobogganer or tobogganist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012