perambulator

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableBritishold-fashioned

   A wheeled carriage for a baby, pushed by an adult; the full form of pram.

   Grammar: Countable: a perambulator, two perambulators.

   Patterns

   • push a perambulator

   She pushed the perambulator along the seafront.

   An old photograph showed the baby asleep in a large perambulator.

   The shop on the corner sold perambulators and cots.

2. 2nouncountabletechnicalrare

   A wheel on a long handle that is rolled along the ground to measure distances.

   Grammar: A technical term used by surveyors.

   Patterns

   • measure with a perambulator

   The surveyor used a perambulator to measure the road.

   A perambulator clicks each time the wheel turns a full circle.

   Farmers once checked their boundaries with a perambulator.

Word forms

Common combinations

push a perambulator

Nannies pushed perambulators around the park.

Victorian perambulator

The museum has a Victorian perambulator.

wicker perambulator

A wicker perambulator stood in the hall.

baby in a perambulator

A baby in a perambulator slept in the shade.

perambulator wheel

The perambulator wheel squeaked on the gravel.

Synonyms and how they differ

pram

Pram is the everyday shortened form and sounds natural today, whereas perambulator sounds old-fashioned or humorous.

baby carriage

Baby carriage is the usual American term and a plain description.

stroller

A stroller or pushchair is a lighter, folding seat for older babies, not a lie-flat carriage.

buggy

Buggy is a British informal word for a light pushchair.

Word family

perambulate verb

to walk about, often leisurely; a formal or humorous word

perambulation noun

a walk or stroll

pram noun

short form of perambulator

ambulate verb

to walk about, used in medicine

Commonly confused: perambulator or ambulance?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “perambulator”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words