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Glite Dictionary
🛷 A racing sled 🛷 To race on ice
bobsled

bobsled

15 3.7
A long narrow sled with runners used for racing down an ice track with two or more people
  • noun
  • /ˈbɑːbˌslɛd/
  • US
translation icon : bobsleigh
  • Russia's Zubkov edges Holcomb in World Cup 4-man bobsled.
  • bobsled team
  • bobsled run
  • bobsled track

We had our own track and then a bobsled, I think.

Examples

  • We're looking for a sponsor for the first Jamaican bobsled team.

    Cool Runnings (1993)

  • The bobsled glided smoothly over the ice, thrilling the spectators as it approached the finish line.

  • Everybody is gonna want to be on my bobsled team.

    Cool Runnings (1993)

  • Tell him what a bobsled is.

    Syriana (2005)

  • Gentlemen, a bobsled is a simple thing.

    Cool Runnings (1993)

  • We need this room for the bobsled.

    Sorority Boys (2002)

  • I wanted to be on a bobsled in the Olympics.

    Syriana (2005)

  • Say hello to the first Jamaican bobsled team.

    Cool Runnings (1993)

  • Every morning when you woke, it was as exciting as though you were going to compete in a downhill ski race or drive a bobsled on a fast run.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • PARK CITY -- Alexander Zubkov put together two solid runs Saturday to win the World Cup four-man bobsled event, depriving Park City native Steven Holcomb of a gold-medal sweep on his home course.

    Blog text (3)

Synonyms

bobsleigh
vsbobsled
  • UK
3 6.9

A long narrow sled for two or more people used to race down an ice track

is the alternate form of the same term in general usage
bob
vsbobsled
  • UK
1 8.1

A long racing sled for two or more people on ice

is the general equipment term for racing down an ice track

How Fast

luge
  • UK
2 8.6
bobsled
  • US
15 3.7
to toboggan
  • US
1 4.3
sled
  • US
96 1.1

Surface Forms

bobsled singular
bobsleds plural

Morphology

bobsled = bob + sled (semi-transparent) = bob + sled

The components 'bob' + 'sled' are identifiable, but the specialized sport meaning (a racing sled used by teams) is not fully predictable from the parts for an average learner.

Etymology

The word bobsled comes from the common words bob ('to move up and down') and sled ('a vehicle on runners'), because early teams used quick 'bobbing' moves and short pushes to gain speed on ice, so a bobsled is the sled made for that fast, bobbing ride.