limousine
Americannoun
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any large, luxurious automobile, especially one driven by a chauffeur.
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a large sedan or small bus, especially one for transporting passengers to and from an airport, between train stations, etc.
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a former type of automobile having a permanently enclosed compartment for from three to five persons, with a roof projecting forward over the driver's seat in front.
noun
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any large and luxurious car, esp one that has a glass division between the driver and passengers
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a former type of car in which the roof covering the rear seats projected over the driver's compartment
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of limousine
1900–05; < French: kind of motorcar, special use of limousine long cloak, so called because worn by the shepherds of Limousin
Explanation
A limousine is a fancy car that's driven by a special driver. Some high school kids hire limousines to take them and their friends to the prom. Some limousines are unusually long, stretched-out versions of regular sedans, while others are merely large and luxurious. The passengers in a limousine sit in the back, sometimes separated from the driver, or chauffeur, by a partition. Wealthy people might own their limousines, but most people rent them for special occasions like weddings. In the US, the word is also used to mean a more ordinary type of hired car: "I'll just take a limousine to the airport."
Vocabulary lists containing limousine
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Along with his men’s store, her brother also owns a limousine business.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
Manifold added that he had turned down a chauffeur-driven limousine, private jets, and corporate sports tickets.
From Barron's • May 28, 2026
Awad owned a limousine company, and his big SUV was a fixture in the area.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
A convoy of vans, lorries, tractors, and even a limousine, are taking part in a 'go-slow' around the town centre before crossing the border into Lifford, County Donegal.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
A second later, relief flowed over him when he saw his family’s familiar limousine pulling up at the curb, right beside the front steps of the school.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
