[gon-dl-uh or, especially for 1, gon-doh-luh] 
| 1. | a long, narrow, flat-bottomed boat having a tall, ornamental stem and stern and sometimes a small cabin for passengers, rowed or poled by a single person who stands at the stern, facing forward: used esp. on the canals of Venice, Italy. |
| 2. | a passenger compartment suspended beneath a balloon or airship. Compare car 1 (def. 4). |
| 3. | an enclosed cabin suspended from an overhead cable, used to transport passengers up and down a ski slope or over scenic or treacherous terrain. |
| 4. | Also called gondola car. an open railroad freight car with low sides, for transporting bulk freight and manufactured goods. |
| 5. | a truck whose bed or trailer is a hopper, as for transporting mixed cement. |
| 6. | a freestanding structure for displaying merchandise in a retail establishment, as a supermarket. |
| 7. | a chair or couch having a gondola back. |
| gondola car n. An open railroad freight car with low sides. |
"You step into an aërial gondola ... and are at once borne upwards."