hansom

IPA/ˈhænsəm/
KK[hˈænsəm]IPA/ˈhænsəm/

hansom — noun

1. a hired city cab from the past, drawn by a single horse and built on two wheels

1.nounC2
Definition

a hired city cab from the past, drawn by a single horse and built on two wheels with a covered seat for riders

Example

After the theater ended, Felipe waved down a hansom under the gas lamps.

wave down a hansom

The doctor sent a hansom to bring the sick child home before dawn.

send a hansom to bring someone home

Common collocations
  • ride in a hansom
  • hire a hansom
  • call a hansom
  • hansom cab
Synonyms
  • horse cab

    the nearest plain-language term; less specific about the two-wheeled design

  • carriage

    broader word for a horse-drawn passenger vehicle; not all carriages are hansoms

  • cab

    historically can include a hansom, but today usually refers to a motor taxi

Antonyms
  • taxi

    the modern hired city vehicle powered by an engine rather than a horse

  • motorcar

    a self-powered road vehicle rather than a horse-drawn one

Grammar Patterns

ride in a hansom

hire/call/send for a hansom

a hansom + carried/took + someone + to + [place]

Usage Note

Mostly appears in historical writing about city travel in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Modern English usually uses cab or taxi instead.

Common Mistakes

We rode in hansom to the hotel.
We rode in a hansom to the hotel.
use an article because this is a countable noun.

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • ride in a hansom
  • hire a hansom
  • send for a hansom