trolley
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trolley
Rhymes with -ɒli
Where it comes from
Early 19th century (1823) meaning "cart", of dialectal origin (Suffolk), probably from troll (“to trundle, roll”) + -ey (diminutive ending).
noun trolleys · trollies · trolly
- A trolley pole; a single-pole device for collecting electrical current from an overhead electrical line, normally for a tram/streetcar or a trolleybus.
-
A streetcar or light train.
Gremlinesque behaviour might not be very obvious to an America, who would accept as perfectly natural the quaintly pixilated sayings and doings that are happening in subways, in trolleys, on buses, in bars at all times of the day and night.
Similar: tram, trolley car
- A light rail, tramway, trolleybus or streetcar system. The only way to stop the trolley is to shove the man off the bridge and into the trolley’s path, killing him but saving the five.
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A truck from which the load is suspended in some kinds of cranes.
Similar: crane trolley, traveling trolley
- A truck which travels along the fixed conductors in an electric railway, and forms a means of connection between them and a railway car.
- A cart or shopping cart; a shopping trolley. About a shopping trolley, I thought I'd let ye know. Ya'd try to push it straight but it never seems ta go. Ya'd wobble through the car park, hopping off the cars. Anyone would think ya had a few auld jars.
- Clipping of flatbed trolley
- A hand truck.
- A soapbox car.
- A gurney, a stretcher with wheeled legs.
- A handcar.
verb trolleys · trolleying · trolleyed · trollied
- To bring to by trolley.
- To use a trolley vehicle to go from one place to another.
- To travel by trolley (streetcar, trolleybus or light train).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: trolley car, streetcar, tram, tramcar, tramway, trolleybus, car, truck, forklift, wagon, carriage, wheelbarrow, cart, chariot, gurney, pole
Translations
Talk about this word "trolley." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/trolley. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. trolley. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/trolley "trolley." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/trolley.Cite this
@misc{trolley_2026,
title = {trolley},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/trolley},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
