Phrase guide

Conestoga wagon

noun · 2 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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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A heavy covered wagon with a curved boatlike body popular in the United States from about 1750–1850.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The heavy and boat-shaped Conestoga wagon should not be confused with the lighter and cheaper prairie schooners that largely replaced them.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a large wagon with broad wheels and an arched canvas top; used by the United States pioneers to cross the prairies in the 19th century

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: covered wagon, Conestoga, prairie wagon, prairie schooner

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: wagon, waggon

History

Etymology

From the Conestoga River in Pennsylvania, USA, whose settlers presumably developed early forms.