trolley
noun, verb
trolley is spelled T-R-O-L-L-E-Y: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, trolley means “A trolley pole; a single-pole device for collecting electrical current from an overhead electrical line, normally for a tram/streetcar or a trolleybus” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of trolley is trolleys or trollies.
How many letters and syllables are in trolley?
| Letters | 7: T-R-O-L-L-E-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,228th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is trolley?
Trolley appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce trolley?
- Australia
Trolley has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-trolley.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of trolley
- trolleys plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- trollies plural
- trolly
- trolleying participle, present
- trolleyed participle, past
- trollied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does trolley mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A trolley pole; a single-pole device for collecting electrical current from an overhead electrical line, normally for a tram/streetcar or a trolleybus.
- 2
USA streetcar or light train.
- 3
UScolloquialA light rail, tramway, trolleybus or streetcar system.
- 4
A truck from which the load is suspended in some kinds of cranes.
- 5
A truck which travels along the fixed conductors in an electric railway, and forms a means of connection between them and a railway car.
- 6
AustraliaIrelandUKA cart or shopping cart; a shopping trolley.
- 7
Clipping of flatbed trolley.
- 8
UKA hand truck.
verb
- 1
To bring to by trolley.
- 2
To use a trolley vehicle to go from one place to another.
- 3
To travel by trolley (streetcar, trolleybus or light train).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Trolley in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does trolley come from?
Early 19th century (1823) meaning "cart", of dialectal origin (Suffolk), probably from troll (“to trundle, roll”) + -ey (diminutive ending).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).