Meaning & use
hackney
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableold-fashionedBritish
A horse or carriage kept for hire, especially one used to carry passengers in the past.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a hackney or several hackneys.
Patterns
- a hackney carriage
- hire a hackney
In the 18th century, a hackney could be hired at the inn for a trip into town.
The museum displays a hackney carriage once used by wealthy families.
He drove a hackney for years before cars replaced horses.
nouncountablespecialist
A horse of a sturdy breed used for riding or driving, often with a high-stepping trot.
Grammar: Countable; often used in the phrase Hackney horse or Hackney pony.
Patterns
- a Hackney horse
- a Hackney pony
The Hackney pony is famous for its lively, high-stepping action in the show ring.
She breeds Hackneys and shows them at national competitions.
A Hackney horse can pull a light carriage with ease.
proper nounproperBritish
A borough in northeastern London, or the area around it.
Grammar: Capitalized when it refers to the place; usually used without 'the'.
Patterns
- in Hackney
- the borough of Hackney
They moved to Hackney last year and love the markets.
Hackney has become a popular area for artists and young families.
The train from Liverpool Street stops in Hackney.
Word forms
| plural | hackneys |
|---|
Common combinations
- hackney carriage
- The old hackney carriage stood outside the hotel.
- hackney horse
- A hackney horse is bred for its elegant trot.
- hackney cab
- In London, a hackney cab is a traditional black taxi.
- hackney pony
- The child rode a hackney pony in the parade.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cab
- Cab usually means a taxi or its driver today, while hackney is mostly historical or refers to the horse or carriage.
- carriage
- Carriage is a general word for a vehicle pulled by horses; hackney specifies one kept for hire.
- taxi
- Taxi is the modern motor vehicle; hackney is the older horse-drawn equivalent.
Word family
- hackneyed adjective
- Overused and no longer fresh or interesting, as in a hackneyed phrase.
Commonly confused: hackney or hackneyed?
hackney vs hackneyed
Hackney is a horse, carriage, or place; hackneyed is an adjective meaning 'overused and unoriginal'.
Practice
In the 1800s, a wealthy family might hire a ______ to take them to the theater.
Choose one answer.
A hackney was a horse or carriage for hire, so the singular form fits after 'a'. 'Hackneyed' is an adjective meaning overused, 'hackneying' is not a standard noun, and 'hackneys' is plural, which does not fit after 'a'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hackney”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.