adj · name · noun · verb · 25 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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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈpəʊni/
General-American:/ˈpoʊni/
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -əʊni
CMU ARPABET:P OW1 N IY2
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Synonym of crap: of little worth.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Cockney, not-comparable, slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: crap
Antonyms: none provided
2
name
Meaning 2
Ellipsis of Pony International, an American brand of athletic gear.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
name
Meaning 3
Ellipsis of My Little Pony, a cartoon media-franchise based on anthropomorphic equines.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: MLP
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A small horse; specifically, any of several small breeds of horse under 14.2 hands at the withers.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: horseling
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
A horse of any size.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: endearing
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
A contraption built like a mount, strong enough to support one's weight.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: buck
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
A small serving of an alcoholic beverage, especially beer.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: regional
Examples
1879, “Some Queer Interviews: Interview with a Pony of Beer”, Puck, Vol. 5–6, p. 435
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
noun
Meaning 8
A serving of 140 millilitres of beer (formerly 5 fl oz); a quarter pint.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Australia, New-South-Wales, Western
Qualifier: Victoria
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
noun
Meaning 9
Twenty-five pounds (money).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
10
noun
Meaning 10
A translation used as a study aid; loosely, a crib, a cheat-sheet.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
11
noun
Meaning 11
A ponytail hairstyle.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
12
noun
Meaning 12
One horsepower.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: slang
Topics: automotive, transport, vehicles
Examples
How many ponies are under the hood?
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
13
noun
Meaning 13
A dance from the 1960s in which the dancer mimics the high-stepping prance of a pony.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: preceded by definite article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
14
noun
Meaning 14
A chorus girl of small stature.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
15
noun
Meaning 15
Ellipsis of Sony pony.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
16
noun
Meaning 16
Synonym of crap: rubbish, nonsense.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Cockney, slang, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: crap
Antonyms: none provided
17
noun
Meaning 17
Alternative form of pone.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
Topics: card-games, games
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
18
noun
Meaning 18
An athletic shoe or other piece of athletic gear of an American-based brand of that name.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
19
verb
Meaning 19
To lead (a horse) from another horse.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
20
verb
Meaning 20
To use a crib or cheat-sheet in translating.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
21
noun
Meaning 21
a range horse of the western United States
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: horse, Equus caballus
Narrower terms: mustang, cayuse, Indian pony
22
noun
Meaning 22
any of various breeds of small gentle horses usually less than five feet high at the shoulder
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: horse, Equus caballus
Narrower terms: Shetland pony, Welsh pony, Exmoor
23
noun
Meaning 23
an informal term for a racehorse
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
he liked to bet on the ponies
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: racehorse, race horse, bangtail
24
noun
Meaning 24
a small glass adequate to hold a single swallow of whiskey
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: shot glass, jigger
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: glass, drinking glass
25
noun
Meaning 25
a literal translation used in studying a foreign language (often used illicitly)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: trot, crib
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: translation, interlingual rendition, rendering, version
History
Etymology
Clipping of pony and trap, rhyming with crap.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pel- Proto-Indo-European *pelh2- Proto-Indo-European *polH-on- Proto-Italic *polnos? Proto-Indo-European *peh2w-? Proto-Indo-European *put-der.? Latin pullus Late Latin pullanus Old French poulenetder.? Scots powny English pony From Scots powny, apparently from Middle French poulenet (“little foal”), ultimately from Late Latin pullanus (“young of an animal”), from pullus. First attested in 1659. Doublet of foal and pullus. Sense “small serving of alcohol” from 19th century, both for small sizes generally and for a quarter pint specifically, from the small size.
Across languages
Translations
88 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Abkhaz:
аҽӷа́ча
(aĉğáča)
— small horse
Abkhaz:
апони
(apʼoni)
— small horse
Arabic:
فَرَس قَزَم
(faras qazam)
— small horse
Armenian:
պոնի
(poni)
— small horse
Azerbaijani:
poni
— small horse
Belarusian:
по́ні
(póni)
— small horse
Breton:
pone
— small horse
Bulgarian:
по́ни
(póni)
— small horse
Catalan:
poni
— small horse
Chinese Mandarin:
矮種馬 /矮种马
(ǎizhǒngmǎ)
— small horse