dogsled

IPA/ˈdɒɡsled/
IPA/ˈdɔːɡsled/

dogsled — noun

  • dogsledsingular
  • dogsledsplural

1. a vehicle with long narrow blades fixed underneath, pulled by dogs, that carries

1.nounB1
Definition

a vehicle with long narrow blades fixed underneath, pulled by dogs, that carries people or goods across snow and ice, especially in cold northern regions such as Alaska, Canada, and Siberia

Example

Hao and his team trained eight huskies to pull their dogsled across the frozen lake.

collocation: pull + dogsled

Every winter, tourists in Alaska can take a dogsled ride through the snowy wilderness.

collocation: take a dogsled ride

Common collocations
  • pull a dogsled
  • ride a dogsled
  • drive a dogsled
  • by dogsled
  • dogsled race
  • dogsled team
  • dogsled tour
Synonyms
  • sled

    a more general term; a sled can be pulled by animals, machines, or gravity, while a dogsled is specifically pulled by dogs

  • dogsledge

    alternative spelling more common in British English; same meaning

Grammar Patterns

a dogsled

by dogsled

Usage Note

Frequently used in compounds such as dogsled race, dogsled tour, and dogsled team. The verb form (to dogsled) is uncommon and mostly limited to informal or descriptive writing.

Common Mistakes

We went on a dogsled in the park' (implies a paved park).
We went on a dogsled across the frozen river.
Dogsleds are only used on snow or ice.

Word family

  • dogsledding
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe vehicles that slide over snow or ice, but they differ in how they are pulled and where they are used. A sled is the broadest term — it may be pulled by dogs, horses, a motor vehicle, or simply slide downhill by gravity. A sledge (more common in British English) is typically a larger, heavier vehicle for carrying goods or people, often pulled by animals. A sleigh is specifically a passenger vehicle with runners, traditionally pulled by horses and associated with Christmas or leisure rides. Dogsledge is simply a variant spelling of dogsled, used mainly in British English. Of the four, only dogsled specifies that the vehicle is pulled by dogs; the others may be pulled by different animals or forces.

sled ↗sledge ↗sleigh ↗dogsledge

Common collocations

Nouns

  • dogsled race
  • dogsled team
  • dogsled tour
  • dogsled ride
  • dogsled trail
  • dogsled driver

Adverbs

Phrases

  • pull a dogsled
  • ride a dogsled
  • drive a dogsled
  • travel by dogsled

Prepositions

  • by dogsled
  • on a dogsled
  • across (the snow/ice)
  • through (the wilderness)

Etymology

Indigenous languages of North AmericaCanadian FrenchEnglish

The word combines 'dog' (the animal that pulls the vehicle) and 'sled' (a vehicle on runners that slides over snow). It entered English in the mid-1800s through contact between European explorers and Indigenous peoples of North America who had used dog-pulled sleds for centuries. The earlier French-Canadian term 'traîneau à chien' ('sled with dog') may have influenced the formation.