Illustration of travois
plural travois also travoises
trə-ˈvȯiz 
ˈtra-ˌvȯiz
: a simple vehicle used by Plains Indians consisting of two trailing poles serving as shafts and bearing a platform or net for the load
Examples of travois in a Sentence
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As soon as the Brulé glimpsed Harney’s troops the women began to strike tepees, loading lodge poles, skins and other belongings onto travois, sledges drawn by horses and dogs.
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Tim Madigan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
On the Great Plains of North America, Native American tribes employed dogs for centuries, outfitting them with a load-bearing frame called a travois that the animals pulled behind them.
—Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 18 June 2019
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Tim Madigan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
On the Great Plains of North America, Native American tribes employed dogs for centuries, outfitting them with a load-bearing frame called a travois that the animals pulled behind them.
—Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 18 June 2019
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Cite this Entry
“Travois.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/travois. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
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