Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense carts, present participle carting, past tense, past participle carted
1. countable noun
A cart is an old-fashioned wooden vehicle that is used for transporting goods or people. Some carts are pulled by animals.
...a country where horse-drawn carts far outnumber cars.
Synonyms: wagon, wain [mainly poetic] More Synonyms of cart
2. verb
If you cart things or people somewhere, you carry them or transport them there, often with difficulty.
[informal]
One of their father's relatives carted off the entire contents of the house. [VERB noun with adverb]
One of them protests loudly, and the Americans cart him away in plastic handcuffs. [VERB noun with adverb]
I've been trying to cut down on the stuff that I cart around with me. [VERB noun with adverb]
[Also VERB noun preposition]
Synonyms: carry, take, bring, bear More Synonyms of cart
3. countable noun
A cart is a small vehicle with a motor.
[US]
Cars are prohibited, so transportation is by electric cart or by horse and buggy.
He drove up in a golf cart to watch them.
4. countable noun
A cart or a shopping cart is a large metal basket on wheels which is provided by shops such as supermarkets for customers to use while they are in the shop.
[US]regional note: in BRIT, use trolley
5.
See to put the cart before the horse
More Synonyms of cart
cart in British English1
(kɑːt)
noun
1.
a heavy open vehicle, usually having two wheels and drawn by horses, used in farming and to transport goods
2.
a light open horse-drawn vehicle having two wheels and springs, for business or pleasure
3.
any small vehicle drawn or pushed by hand, such as a trolley
4. put the cart before the horse
verb
5. (usually tr)
to use or draw a cart to convey (goods, etc)
to cart groceries
6. (transitive)
to carry with effort; haul
to cart wood home
Derived forms
cartable (ˈcartable)
adjective
carter (ˈcarter)
noun
Word origin
C13: from Old Norse kartr; related to Old English cræt carriage, Old French carete; see car
cart in British English2
(kɑːt)
noun
radio, television short for cartridge (sense 4)
CART in British English
abbreviation for
Championship Auto Racing Teams
cart in American English
(kɑrt)
noun
1.
any of various small, strong, two-wheeled vehicles drawn by a horse, ox, pony, etc.
2.
a light, uncovered wagon or carriage
3.
a small, wheeled vehicle, drawn or pushed by hand
verb transitive
4.
to carry or deliver in or as in a cart, truck, etc.; transport
5.
to remove (someone or something) forcefully
she was carted off to jail
Idioms:
put the cart before the horse
Derived forms
carter (ˈcarter)
noun
Word origin
ME < ON kartr (akin to OE cræt; orig., body of a cart made of wickerwork, hamper): for IE base see cradle
More idioms containing
cart
put the cart before the horse
Examples of 'cart' in a sentence
cart
Is this not a classic case of putting the cart before the horse?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Outside horses and carts still pass.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Blaming the slower wage numbers on Brexit is putting the cart before the horse.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I would suggest this is putting the cart before the horse.
Computing (2010)
A horse and cart would be quicker.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I don't go about in a horse and cart.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We got there and we got the shopping cart that wanted to keep pulling left.
Christianity Today (2000)
There are pack mules and horse drawn carts.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Two golf carts are provided for going to a nearby beach.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
People have carts they have to make themselves out of wood and little wheels.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The police charge her and cart her away.
The Sun (2008)
We recommend the fun horse and cart ride.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
She waved a hand encompassing the cart and knight.
Kathleen E. Woodiwiss THE WOLF AND THE DOVE
There was always the small yard cart.
Eddison, Sydney A Patchwork Garden: Unexpected Pleasures from a Country Garden (1990)
How many of us are going to cart around two sets of clothes?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Over there is a homeless man with his array of belongings in a shopping cart.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It has installed air con in its golf carts.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Mountains of rubbish were being carted away.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Yet for the electric golf cart industry, the credit could prove a lifeline.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The feathers were brought from the docks to the warehouse in a horse-drawn cart.
Max Arthur Lost Voices of the Edwardians: 19011910 in the words of the Men & Women Who WereThere (2006)
As she drew near, she noticed a cart drawn up before the doors.
Kathleen E. Woodiwiss THE WOLF AND THE DOVE
He hired off-duty police officers and supplied electric carts.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Desire them to remain with the man, while you go for a cart to carry him home.
Frederick Marryat The Children of the New Forest (1847)
The structure on the left would have housed the cart and been a basic workshop space; above it was a hay loft.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Security people mind the cart and I do the walking.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It is not known whether he rode it himself, or whether he was carried in one of the two metal cartsthat it pushed.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In other languages
cart
British English: cart /kɑːt/ NOUN
A cart is an old-fashioned wooden vehicle, usually pulled by an animal.
...a country where there are more horse-drawn carts than cars.
American English: cart wooden vehicle
Arabic: عَرَبَة
Brazilian Portuguese: carroça
Chinese: 手推车
Croatian: kola
Czech: vůz tažený zvířaty
Danish: kærre
Dutch: kar
European Spanish: carro carreta
Finnish: kärryt
French: chariot
German: Karren
Greek: καροτσάκι
Italian: carrello
Japanese: 荷馬車
Korean: 손수레
Norwegian: vogn
Polish: wóz
European Portuguese: carroça
Romanian: căruță
Russian: телега
Latin American Spanish: carro
Swedish: kärra
Thai: เกวียน
Turkish: at arabası
Ukrainian: віз
Vietnamese: xe ngựa
British English: cart VERB
If you cart things or people somewhere, you carry them or transport them there, often with difficulty.
After their parents died, one of their father's relatives carted off the entire contents of the house.
American English: cart
Brazilian Portuguese: transportar em carroça
Chinese: 运送常指费力地
European Spanish: cargar con
French: transporter
German: wegschleppen
Italian: trasportare
Japanese: 運ぶ
Korean: 실어 나르다
European Portuguese: transportar em carroça
Latin American Spanish: cargar con
All related terms of 'cart'
go-cart
a small wagon for young children to ride in or pull
bar cart
a small table on wheels , outfitted for serving drinks; a portable bar
Cape cart
a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle sometimes with a canvas hood
cart off
to carry or remove brusquely or by force
dust cart
a garbage truck
golf cart
a small motorized vehicle for transporting golfers and their equipment round a golf course
pie cart
a mobile van selling warmed-up food and drinks
tea cart
a small table on wheels for holding a tea service, extra dishes at a dinner , etc.; serving cart
tip-cart
a cart with a body that can be tilted to empty it of its contents
apple cart
a huckster's handcart for selling apples in the street , etc.
cart horse
a strong horse bred to draw heavy loads ; draft horse
cart track
a rough track or road in a rural area
crash cart
a movable cart or similar conveyance carrying supplies and equipment for the management of medical emergencies
smart cart
a shopping trolley that uses computer and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to assist the shopper in various ways, such as giving the exact location of items on a pre-entered list, suggesting alternative products, and giving information about discounted items on nearby shelves , and a running total of the price of its contents
water cart
a water seller's cart
bullock cart
a cart pulled by one or two bullocks
shopping cart
A shopping cart is the same as a → shopping trolley .
go-cart racing
the sport of riding on karts
housekeeping cart
A housekeeping cart is a large metal basket on wheels which is used by a cleaner in a hotel to move clean bed linen , towels , and cleaning equipment.
oxcart
An oxcart is a cart pulled by an ox or oxen.
carthorse
A carthorse is a large, powerful horse that is used to pull carts or farm machinery .
handcart
A handcart is a small cart with two wheels which is pushed or pulled along and is used for transporting goods.
caddie car
a small light two-wheeled trolley for carrying clubs
Fendalton shopping cart
a four-wheel drive recreational vehicle
upset the apple cart
to disrupt a procedure , spoil someone's plans , etc.
put the cart before the horse
to do things in the wrong order
to put the cart before the horse
If you say that someone is putting the cart before the horse , you mean that they are doing things in the wrong order.