Meaning & use
carriage clock
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A small portable clock in a rectangular case with a folding handle on top, designed to be carried while traveling.
Grammar: Countable: use a/an and a plural form, as in "a carriage clock" or "several carriage clocks".
Patterns
- a carriage clock
- wind a carriage clock
- a brass carriage clock
My grandmother keeps a brass carriage clock on the mantelpiece.
The little carriage clock still keeps good time after a hundred years.
He wound the carriage clock every evening before bed.
nouncountable
A decorative clock of this style, often with a glass case, sold today mainly as an ornament or gift.
Grammar: Also countable; in modern use it often appears in shopping and gift contexts rather than travel contexts.
Patterns
- buy a carriage clock
- a modern carriage clock
- a gift carriage clock
They bought him a carriage clock when he retired from the firm.
The shop sells carriage clocks and other small antiques.
A carriage clock in a glass case stood on the shelf.
Word forms
| plural | carriage clocks |
|---|
Common combinations
- a brass carriage clock
- A brass carriage clock gleamed on the desk.
- wind a carriage clock
- You have to wind a carriage clock by hand.
- an antique carriage clock
- The auction included an antique carriage clock.
- a carriage clock on the mantelpiece
- A carriage clock on the mantelpiece chimed the hour.
- a carriage clock in a leather case
- The traveler packed a carriage clock in a leather case.
Synonyms and how they differ
- travel clock
- A more general, modern term for any small clock meant for trips; a carriage clock is the older, box-shaped style with a top handle.
- mantel clock
- A clock made to sit on a shelf or mantelpiece and not meant to be carried; a carriage clock is portable.
Word family
- carriage noun
- noun: a vehicle with wheels for passengers, or the part of a train for passengers; the clock is named after the old idea of carrying it.
Commonly confused: carriage clock or carriage?
carriage clock vs carriage
'Carriage' alone means a vehicle or a train section; 'carriage clock' is only the small portable timepiece.
Practice
Which sentence uses "carriage clock" correctly?
Choose one answer.
A carriage clock is a small box-shaped clock with a handle on top, so it sits on a desk or shelf. Option 0 is wrong because it is not a wall clock; option 1 is wrong because it is too big for a pocket; option 3 confuses it with a carriage, the vehicle.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “carriage clock”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.