streetcar

American  

[street-kahr] / ˈstritˌkɑr /

noun

1. a public vehicle running regularly along certain streets, usually on rails, as a trolley car or trolley bus.

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streetcar British  

/ ˈstriːtˌkɑː /

noun

1. Also called: trolley car.   tram.   tramcar.  an electrically driven public transport vehicle that runs on rails let into the surface of the road, power usually being taken from an overhead wire

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Etymology

Origin of streetcar

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; street + car ¹

Example Sentences

The city is increasing public transit to the stadium on match days but keeping subway, bus and streetcar prices at normal levels of less than $4 a ride.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

When the next streetcar rolls in, the upper deck fills with a gaggle of schoolgirls, squabbling over who gets the window seat closest to the sea breeze.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

The commuters in “Le Métro” hark back to his early streetcar scenes but now there’s an air of mystery to the straphangers, with the central figure’s face obscured and bisected by a subway pole.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

So is the streetcar, and many of the other vehicles, as well as most of the buildings, signs, facades, lights and pedestrians.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2024

Once, she had seen a haint raise such a bluster on the sidewalk that a living man stumbled as it spun through him, falling hard into the street and nearly getting flattened by a streetcar.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

Related Words

• trolley