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tea cart

tea cart

1 2.7
A small cart on wheels for serving tea, coffee, or light food
  • noun
  • /ti kɑrt/
translation icon : carrito de té
  • A single armless chair, a sideboard, the tea cart in what I guessed had been a dining room.

Examples

  • She decorated the tea cart with fresh flowers and served pastries to her friends during the afternoon gathering.

  • This tea cart's pretty charming.

  • Aside from that, though, there was Brianna Randall, now gazing contemplatively at the tea cart, as though wondering where to start.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The waiter pushed the tea cart around the garden party, offering guests a selection of fragrant brews.

  • He filled the tea cart with steaming cups of Earl Grey and delicious scones for the guests.

Synonyms

cart
vstea cart
297 1.0

A small vehicle with wheels that you push or pull to carry things

is specifically for delivering hot drinks and light refreshments to people
trolley
vstea cart
  • UK
8 1.0

A cart on wheels used for carrying shopping or luggage

is intended mainly for serving drinks to people not general transport
tea trolley
vstea cart
  • UK
1 3.7

A small cart on wheels used to serve tea and snacks

is used more generally not limited to domestic social settings
tea wagon
vstea cart
  • US
5.4

A small cart on wheels used to serve tea and light food

has the same meaning and use as the key concept
teacart
vstea cart
5.2

A small table on wheels for serving tea and light food

is a wheeled serving unit designed for carrying items rather than as a flat surface
serving cart
vstea cart
  • US
2.8

A small table with wheels for carrying and serving food and drinks

is specialized for bringing hot drinks and small refreshments rather than general food

How Portable

tray
311 1.0
tea cart
1 2.7
buffet
13 6.2

Surface Forms

tea cart singular
tea carts plural

Morphology

tea + cart

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'tea' (the drink) + 'cart' (a wheeled vehicle), so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a cart for serving or carrying tea/refreshments. This noun-compound pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, making the expression immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Tea cart paints a clear picture: a small cart on wheels carrying tea cups and a tray as a waiter rolls it to guests. So the name simply means 'a small wheeled cart used for serving tea, coffee, or light refreshments'.