''pram'' ▫ᴱᴺ Entries

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''pram'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260915190735-00-⌔

pram - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

pram (plural prams) (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth)

• A small vehicle, usually covered, in which a newborn baby is pushed around in a lying position.
  • ✤ Synonyms: perambulator, (US) baby carriage
  • ✤ Coordinate terms: baby buggy, pushchair, pusher, stroller
  • ✤ Janet Bird née Ollerenshaw was pushing her pram along Tockley High Street.¹
  • ✤ For a start the pram was heavier than it appeared, and also they were pulling it along very uneven ground. The edge of the field was slightly banked which tilted the pram at an angle.²
  • ✤ Stepping over her, he unbuttoned the pram ′s apron and pulled it back.
    At first he couldn′t make out what the pram contained. He had to crane himself over, holding his body back from the obscuring light. The pram was full of groceries—cabbage, sprouts, potatoes.³
  • ✤ The Key Train Requirements document, released in July by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), includes a new clause covering people travelling with pushchairs. It highlights the need for space in carriages for unfolded pushchairs or prams, separate from areas for wheelchairs and cycles. It also recommends extending seat reservations to include pram spaces.⁴
• (colloquial, loosely) A pushchair; a buggy.

Noun

pram (plural prams)

• (nautical, historical) A flat-bottomed barge used on shallow shores to convey cargo to and from ships that cannot enter the harbour.
• (nautical, historical) A similar barge used as platform for cannons in shallow waters which seagoing warships cannot enter.
• A type of dinghy with a flat bow.
  • ✤ Although the pram, like the johnboat, has a squared-off bow as well as stern, the bow lines on the pram will be narrower than those encountered on a johnboat.⁵
  • ✤ Nothing can beat the simple pleasure of paddling a pram around on a foggy dawn, probing pad flats, stumps and fallen logs for lurking bass.⁶

Etymology 1

🖼️ ➺

Clipping of perambulator.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: prăm, IPA: /pɹæm/
• Audio (Australia): 🔊
• Rhymes: -æm

Etymology 2

🖼️ ➺

From Dutch praam (“a flat-bottomed boat”), from Middle Dutch praem, from Middle Low German prām, from Old Czech ﹡prám, from Proto-Slavic ﹡pormъ.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: präm, IPA: /pɹɑːm/
  • Audio (Southern England): 🔊
• Rhymes: -ɑːm

Printed 2026-09-15.

(echo:: @ ⌗)

Footnotes

1. 1975, Margaret Drabble, The Realms of Gold ‎${}^{[1]}$, published 1977, page 127: ↩

2. 2006, Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale ‎${}^{[2]}$: ↩

3. 2012, Ramsey Campbell, Dark Companions ‎${}^{[3]}$, page 233: ↩

4. 2023 August 9, Paul Clifton, “Network News: Family-friendly travel: new standard covers pushchairs”, in RAIL, number 989, page 26: ↩

5. August 1979, F. M. Paulson, “Car-topable Craft”, in Field & Stream ‎${}^{[4]}$, page 50: ↩

6. 1994, Dave Hughes, Fly Fishing Basics ‎${}^{[5]}$: ↩

Link to original

Secondary

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