tandem.
A carriage pulled by two or more draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other, both providing pulling power but only the animal in front being able to steer.
Meaning & usage
A carriage pulled by two or more draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other, both providing pulling power but only the animal in front being able to steer.
Two draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other.
A thing with two components arranged one behind the other.
If you want a canoe that can seat both of you comfortably, you’ll need a tandem.
A thing with two components arranged one behind the other. Ellipsis of tandem bicycle (“a bicycle or tricycle in which two people sit one behind the other, both able to pedal but only the person in front being able to steer”).
A hollow metal tube containing radioactive material, inserted through the vagina into the uterus to treat gynecological cancer.
A group of two or more machines, people, etc., working together; hence (uncountable), close collaboration.
A method of language learning based on mutual exchange, where ideally each learner is a native speaker in the language the other person wants to learn.
Where this word comes from
PIE word *téh₂m The noun is borrowed from Latin tandem (“of time: at last, at length, finally”), applied humorously in English to two horses harnessed “at length” (that is, in a single line) instead of side-by-side. Tandem is derived from tam (“so, to such an extent”) + -dem (demonstrative suffix). The adjective, adverb, and verb are derived from the noun.
One behind the other; in single file.
The horses were harnessed tandem.
to ride tandem on a bicycle built for two
In close collaboration; collaboratively, cooperatively.
Where this word comes from
PIE word *téh₂m The noun is borrowed from Latin tandem (“of time: at last, at length, finally”), applied humorously in English to two horses harnessed “at length” (that is, in a single line) instead of side-by-side. Tandem is derived from tam (“so, to such an extent”) + -dem (demonstrative suffix). The adjective, adverb, and verb are derived from the noun.
With two components arranged one behind the other.
tandem canoe tandem engine
Working together collaboratively; collaborative, cooperative.
Their skillful tandem work made the project quick and successful.
Where this word comes from
PIE word *téh₂m The noun is borrowed from Latin tandem (“of time: at last, at length, finally”), applied humorously in English to two horses harnessed “at length” (that is, in a single line) instead of side-by-side. Tandem is derived from tam (“so, to such an extent”) + -dem (demonstrative suffix). The adjective, adverb, and verb are derived from the noun.
Synonym of tandemize (“(transitive) to harness or drive (two draught animals, generally draught horses) one behind the other; to set up (two or more things, such as pieces or equipment) to work in tandem or together; (intransitive) to drive a tandem (‘carriage pulled by two or more draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other’)”)
Where this word comes from
PIE word *téh₂m The noun is borrowed from Latin tandem (“of time: at last, at length, finally”), applied humorously in English to two horses harnessed “at length” (that is, in a single line) instead of side-by-side. Tandem is derived from tam (“so, to such an extent”) + -dem (demonstrative suffix). The adjective, adverb, and verb are derived from the noun.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.