plural carriages
1
a
: a wheeled vehicle
especially
: a horse-drawn vehicle designed for private use and comfort
b
British
: a railway passenger coach
2
: a wheeled support carrying a burden
3
a
: manner of bearing the body : posture
that slender unrigid erectness and the fine carriage of head—
Willa Cather
Willa Cather
b
archaic
: deportment
4
: the act of carrying
5
: a movable part of a machine for supporting some other movable object or part
a typewriter carriage
6
chiefly British
: the price or expense of carrying
7
medical
: the condition of harboring a pathogen within the body
Clinical manifestations of enterovirus infections are protean, ranging from asymptomatic carriage to life-threatening illness.—Journal of the American Medical Association
Journal of the American Medical AssociationHospitals commonly screen patients in the ICU for nasal carriage of MRSA and use contact precautions with carriers.—Susan S. Huang et al.
Susan S. Huang et al.8
archaic
: management
11
obsolete
: a hanger for a sword
Examples of carriage in a Sentence
They rode to the city in carriages.
I took the baby to the park in the carriage.
Recent Examples on the Web
The carriages have long been scrutinized for what critics say amounts to inhumane treatment of horses and safety issues for cab drivers and bystanders, especially when a thousand-pound animal gets spooked and charges.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 20 Sep. 2025
In mainland Europe, the standardization of driving on the right began with the sweeping away of class distinctions in revolutionary France — the left had previously been the preserve of the carriage-riding wealthy.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2025
There was an official welcome outdoors, a private carriage procession around the Windsor Estate (which the public were kept away from) and the President and First Lady had a chance to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at her tomb in St George's Chapel.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Additional channels and carriage will be announced as available.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for carriage
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Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 20 Sep. 2025
In mainland Europe, the standardization of driving on the right began with the sweeping away of class distinctions in revolutionary France — the left had previously been the preserve of the carriage-riding wealthy.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2025
There was an official welcome outdoors, a private carriage procession around the Windsor Estate (which the public were kept away from) and the President and First Lady had a chance to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at her tomb in St George's Chapel.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Additional channels and carriage will be announced as available.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for carriage
Cite this Entry
“Carriage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carriage. Accessed 23 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
carriage
noun
car·riage
ˈkar-ij 
1
: the act of carrying
2
: manner of holding the body : posture
3
: a horse-drawn wheeled vehicle designed for carrying persons
4
: a wheeled support carrying a load
gun carriage
5
: a movable part of a machine for supporting some other movable object or part
a typewriter carriage
Medical Definition
carriage
noun
car·riage
ˈkar-ij
: the condition of harboring a pathogen within the body
immunization against hepatitis B reduced the rate of HBV carriage
asymptomatic carriage of the pneumococcus in the nasopharynx
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