Meaning & use
cart horse
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Meanings
nouncountable
A large, strong horse bred to pull heavy loads such as carts or farm equipment.
Grammar: Countable: a cart horse, two cart horses.
Patterns
- a cart horse pulling something
The farmer used a cart horse to pull the load of hay.
A cart horse is much heavier than a racehorse.
We watched a cart horse plod slowly along the lane.
nouncountableinformalfigurative
A person who works very hard and steadily, but without style or glamour.
Grammar: Figurative and informal: she is a real cart horse.
Patterns
- work like a cart horse
He is a cart horse of a worker, never complaining and never stopping.
She felt like a cart horse, carrying the whole team's workload.
Word forms
| plural | cart horses |
|---|
Common combinations
- heavy cart horse
- A heavy cart horse stood at the gate.
- strong as a cart horse
- He is as strong as a cart horse.
- work like a cart horse
- She works like a cart horse every harvest.
- cart horse breed
- The Clydesdale is a famous cart horse breed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- draft horse
- Draft horse is the American term for the same kind of heavy working horse.
- workhorse
- Workhorse is used more for people or machines that do the main work, and sounds more positive.
- shire horse
- Shire horse names one specific British breed, while cart horse is a general role.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: cart horse or racehorse?
cart horse vs racehorse
A racehorse is bred for speed, while a cart horse is bred for strength and pulling.
Practice
A cart horse is best described as a horse that is ___.
Choose one answer.
A cart horse is a strong horse used for pulling loads. Racehorses and show jumpers are bred for speed and agility.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cart horse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.