tandem

Meanings

Noun

• A carriage pulled by two or more draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other, both providing the pulling power but only the animal in front able to steer.
• A bicycle or tricycle in which two people sit one behind the other, both able to pedal but only the person in front able to steer.
• A group of two or more people, machines etc. working together; 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.

Adverb

• One behind the other.

Adjective

• Together; working as one.

Related

Similar words

• in tandem

Origin

• . In English, applied humorously (by someone who knew Latin) to two horses harnessed "at length" (i.e., in a single line) instead of side-by-side.