gondola
gondola — noun
1. a passenger boat of a style seen in Venice, long and narrow with a flat base and
a passenger boat of a style seen in Venice, long and narrow with a flat base and raised ends shaped like points
Ayesha took a gondola ride through the narrow canals of Venice during her summer holiday.
collocation: gondola ride / gondola trip
The gondola glided silently past old buildings while the boatman sang an Italian song.
Tourists lined up at the canal to hire a gondola for an evening trip around the city.
Each gondola is handmade and painted black, following a tradition that is centuries old.
My grandfather once built a small wooden model of a Venetian gondola for the local museum.
- canal boat
a general term that includes gondolas and other boats used on canals; less specific
- water taxi
a motorised boat for hire; faster and more practical than a gondola but lacks the traditional design
文法句型
take a ~
ride in a ~
travel by ~
用法筆記
The person who steers a gondola is called a gondolier. This sense is most often encountered in tourism and travel writing about Venice.
常見錯誤
2. a hanging compartment that carries people up or down a mountain, across a valley
a hanging compartment that carries people up or down a mountain, across a valley, or along a ski slope, suspended from a moving steel cable
The cable car's gondola swayed gently as it climbed toward the mountain station.
Bao and his sister waited for the next gondola to take them up the ski slope.
A single gondola on the cable can carry up to eight people with their skis and bags.
The glass-bottomed gondola offered a stunning view of the forest far below.
Workers inspected every gondola on the lift before the ski season opened in December.
- cable car cabin
a more descriptive term; 'cable car' often refers to the whole system, not the individual compartment
- ski lift carriage
used specifically in skiing contexts; less common than 'gondola' in everyday speech
文法句型
board a ~
ride in a ~
wait for a ~
用法筆記
This is the most common modern sense of 'gondola' outside Italy. A single installation may use multiple gondolas on one cable. A chairlift is a related but different system — gondolas are enclosed, while chairlifts are open seats.
常見錯誤
3. a cabin or basket that hangs beneath an airship, balloon, or other aircraft, use
a cabin or basket that hangs beneath an airship, balloon, or other aircraft, used to carry passengers, cargo, or equipment
The hot air balloon's gondola had room for four passengers and the pilot.
Emre climbed into the wicker gondola as the balloon began to rise from the field.
collocation: wicker gondola (traditional balloon basket material)
From the gondola of the balloon, the crowd below looked tiny and distant.
Scientists inside the research balloon's gondola recorded weather data all through the night.
文法句型
climb into a ~
ride in a ~
the ~ of a [balloon/airship]
用法筆記
For hot air balloons, the gondola is also commonly called a basket. In airship contexts, it may also be called a cabin or car. This sense overlaps with sense 2 (CABLE CAR) only in that both involve suspended compartments; the vehicles they attach to are entirely different.
常見錯誤
4. a railway goods wagon with a flat floor, low fixed sides, and no roof, designed
a railway goods wagon with a flat floor, low fixed sides, and no roof, designed to carry heavy materials such as coal, stone, or scrap metal
The train carried open gondolas loaded with coal from the mine.
collocation: open gondola / loaded with [material]
Felix watched the railway workers fill the gondola with crushed stone for the new road.
Unlike boxcars, a gondola has no roof and low metal sides for easy loading and unloading.
A crane lifted the scrap metal and dropped it into the waiting gondola on the tracks.
- open wagon
British English equivalent; more common outside North America
- hopper car
similar but has a mechanism to release cargo through bottom doors; not identical to a gondola
文法句型
load a ~
fill a ~
transport [material] in a ~
用法筆記
This sense is almost exclusively North American. In British English, the same type of wagon is usually called an open wagon or hopper wagon. The word 'gondola' in this sense is rarely encountered outside railway industry contexts.