chuck wagon

noun

A wagon equipped with food and cooking utensils, and used to prepare meals, as on a ranch, in a lumber camp, or during a cattle drive in the latter part of the 19th century.

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Meanings

nounchuck wagon (plural chuck wagons)

plural chuck wagons · alternative chuckwagon · alternative chuckwaggon

  1. UShistoricalA wagon equipped with food and cooking utensils, and used to prepare meals, as on a ranch, in a lumber camp, or during a cattle drive in the latter part of the 19th century.
  2. A sandwich composed of a piece of chicken-fried steak or a breaded beef patty, with typical toppings being lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.

Origin

From chuck + wagon; chuck was cowboy slang for food.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

chuck wagon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chuck%20wagon

MLA

“chuck wagon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chuck%20wagon. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chuck wagon,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chuck%20wagon.

Source: chuck wagon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.