Phrase guide

billy cart

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A rudimentary child's cart; a soapbox car.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, UK

Examples

  • 1954 December, Rotary Reporter: Brief Items on Club Activities around the World, The Rotarian, page 38, Whether you call them billy carts or soap-box racers, they're one and the same: homemade, four-wheeled, motorless racers that depend on a downhill course for their speed. [...] In Coffs Harbour, Australia, for example, the Rotary Club recently held its third annual Billy Cart Derby for cars in two divisions: homemade racers and special championship cars.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From billy (“male goat”) + cart, referring to the former practice of hitching a cart behind a large goat.