hansom

[ han-suhm ]

noun
  1. a low-hung, two-wheeled, covered vehicle drawn by one horse, for two passengers, with the driver being mounted on an elevated seat behind and the reins running over the roof.

  2. any similar horse-drawn vehicle.

Origin of hansom

1
1850–55; named after J. A. Hansom (1803–82), English architect who designed it
  • Also called hansom cab .

Words Nearby hansom

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

How to use hansom in a sentence

  • Then, as Jessie had confidently anticipated, another figure emerged as if from the door of the garden and hailed the other hansom.

    The Weight of the Crown | Fred M. White
  • With a grin the cabman touched his cap, the door banged, and the hansom set off as if the fare were in a breakneck hurry.

    The Weight of the Crown | Fred M. White
  • I immediately took a hansom to Maxwell's rooms, to find that he had gone to Paris in a great hurry.

    The Weight of the Crown | Fred M. White
  • His first move was to take a hansom and go down to the office of the Mercury and there ask for Mr. Hunt.

    The Weight of the Crown | Fred M. White
  • He made some remark about the beauty of the night, and a minute later he was bowling back in a hansom to Merehaven House.

    The Weight of the Crown | Fred M. White

British Dictionary definitions for hansom

hansom

/ (ˈhænsəm) /


noun
  1. (sometimes capital) a two-wheeled one-horse carriage with a fixed hood. The driver sits on a high outside seat at the rear: Also called: hansom cab

Origin of hansom

1
C19: short for hansom cab, named after its designer J. A. Hansom (1803–82)

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