Meaning & use
pram
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableBritish
A small wheeled bed or carriage in which a baby lies flat while someone pushes it along.
Grammar: Countable: push a pram, two prams. Americans usually say baby carriage.
Patterns
- push a pram
- a baby in a pram
She pushed the pram slowly along the path while the baby slept.
A row of prams stood outside the cafe.
He folded the pram and put it in the boot of the car.
nouncountablespecialist
A small flat-bottomed boat, often used as a dinghy to reach a larger boat.
Grammar: A specialist nautical sense, less common than the baby carriage meaning.
Patterns
- row a pram
They rowed ashore in the yacht's little pram.
The pram was tied to the stern of the larger boat.
He used the pram to carry supplies out to the mooring.
Word forms
| plural | prams |
|---|
Common combinations
- push a pram
- Several parents were pushing prams through the park.
- baby in a pram
- A baby in a pram gurgled happily at the pigeons.
- pram wheels
- The pram wheels squeaked on the gravel.
- pram shop
- There is a pram shop on the corner of the high street.
- fold the pram
- Please fold the pram before you board the bus.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stroller
- Stroller is the usual American word, and it describes a seated chair-like buggy rather than the lie-flat pram.
- buggy
- A buggy is a lighter, folding seat for an older baby, whereas a pram traditionally suits a newborn lying down.
- baby carriage
- Baby carriage is the American term closest to a traditional pram, and it sounds old-fashioned in Britain.
- pushchair
- Pushchair is the British word for a seated model for toddlers, unlike the pram where the baby lies flat.
Word family
- perambulator noun
- the full, old-fashioned word from which pram is shortened
- pushchair noun
- a folding chair on wheels for a small child
- prams noun
- the plural form
Commonly confused: pram or cram?
pram vs cram
Cram is a verb meaning to force into a small space or to study hard at the last minute. It sounds like pram but has nothing to do with babies.
Practice
A British parent would most likely say which sentence about a newborn?
Choose one answer.
Pram is the British word for a baby carriage where a newborn lies flat. Stroller is the American word, and trolley and cart are for shopping or carrying goods.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pram”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.