trolley Hear it!

trolley Definition

trol·ley (trä)

noun pl. -·leys

  1. a wheeled carriage, basket, etc. that runs suspended from an overhead track
  2. ☆ an apparatus, as a grooved wheel at the end of a pole, for transmitting electric current from an overhead wire to the motor of a streetcar, etc.
  3. trolley car
  4. Brit. any of various wheeled vehicles or carts, esp. a cart pushed by hand

Etymology: < East Anglian dial. < troll

transitive verb, intransitive verb -·leyed, -·ley·ing

☆ to carry or ride on a trolley

trolley Idioms

off one's trolley

Slang crazy; insane

trolley Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • push: I used to push the dinner trolleys to the wards.
  • abandon: They are also keen to hear from anyone who may have seen an abandoned trolley in the area.
  • discard: Discarded shopping trolleys are incorporated into techno-industrial gothic as hidden symbols of our times.
  • wheel: The balloon is attached by cable to a small wheeled trolley which is operated by two people on the ground.
  • pull: The winch then pulls the trolleys plus boats sideways out of the water.

Preposition: in

  • corridor: The old are neglected and abandoned in squalid homes, left to die on trolleys in drafty hospital corridors.

Adjective modifier

  • electric: In addition it can be operated like a traditional electric trolley.
  • portable: A portable trolley with newspapers, sweets etc. visits the ward in the mornings.
  • laptop: The burglars struck over the weekend and took 12 laptops, a laptop trolley and 12 wall-mounted digital projectors.

Modifies a noun

  • dolly: Gatwick airport might be conveniently near but sometimes its trolley dollies are uncomfortably close.
  • jack: When using a trolley jack, refer to the vehicle workshop manual to identify the correct lifting point.
  • dash: Get your local supermarket to donate a trolley dash as a prize!
  • bus: These trolley busses, among the last of their breed, are at Park Lane Depot.
  • pole: The second part of the sentence is Tomlinson's own image ( part homage to 1913 trolley car poles?

Noun used with modifier

  • shopping: Mr Jackson managed to fill four shopping trolleys with the help of staff who had the next trolley lined up.
  • luggage: He pushed their empty luggage trolley a little faster.
  • hostess: The old hostess trolley has also had a makeover.
  • supermarket: In 1985 he invested in his own business making supermarket shopping trolleys.
  • resuscitation: Resuscitation trolleys have to carry all the equipment needed to resuscitate someone in an arrest.
  • dessert: Give me the cheese board over the dessert trolley every time.

Browse dictionary entries near trolley

  1. troll
  2. Trojan War
  3. Trojan horse
  4. Trojan
  5. Trois-Rivières
  6. Troilus
  7. troilism
  8. troika
  9. trogon
  10. troglodyte
  1. trolley bus
  2. trolley car
  3. Trolling/Baiting/Flaming
  4. trollop
  5. Trollope
  6. trolly
  7. trombidiasis
  8. trombone
  9. trommel
  10. tromp