taxi
noun
a taxicab.
taxi
1 American
[tak-see]
/ ˈtæk si /
noun
-
taxis,
plural
-
taxies
plural
verb (used without object)
-
taxies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taxied,
past participle, past
-
taxiing,
present participle
-
taxying
present participle
-
to ride or travel in a taxicab.
-
(of an airplane) to move over the surface of the ground or water under its own power.
verb (used with object)
-
taxies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taxied,
past participle, past
-
taxiing,
present participle
-
taxying
present participle
taxi-
2
American
taxi
British
/ ˈtæksɪ /
noun
verb
-
to cause (an aircraft) to move along the ground under its own power, esp before takeoff and after landing, or (of an aircraft) to move along the ground in this way
-
(intr) to travel in a taxi
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
taxisimple
-
taxiessimple
-
have taxiedperfect
-
has taxiedperfect
-
am taxiingprogressive
-
am taxyingprogressive
-
are taxiingprogressive
-
are taxyingprogressive
-
is taxiingprogressive
-
is taxyingprogressive
-
have been taxiingperfect progressive
-
have been taxyingperfect progressive
-
has been taxiingperfect progressive
-
has been taxyingperfect progressive
Past
-
taxiedsimple
-
had taxiedperfect
-
was taxiingprogressive
-
was taxyingprogressive
-
were taxiingprogressive
-
were taxyingprogressive
-
had been taxiingperfect progressive
-
had been taxyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of taxi
1905–10, short for taxicab
Explanation
Running late? Call a taxi. A taxi is a car you hire to drive you somewhere. In some big cities, all you have to do is raise your hand and yell "taxi!" and a taxi will pull up next to you. You can also refer to a taxi as a cab or a taxicab. Most taxis are cars, although boats for hire are sometimes also called taxis. As a verb, taxi describes what airplanes do when they move very slowly on a runway. Officially, taxi is short for taximeter cab, as they were originally named at the turn of the 20th century. Today the taximeter, which records distance and fare, is usually just called a meter.
Vocabulary lists containing taxi
Flying High: Aviation Words
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Greetings, World Traveler! — List 1
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Unit 5
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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.
See Examples For:
As they waded into the calm shallows of the Channel, their "taxi boat" came into view.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous taxi company, is expanding rapidly and operates in 14 cities including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Seven-year-old Maisie was using a taxi company provided by the EA but the contract has now gone out to tender.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Tips make up a significant portion of the income for millions of servers, housekeepers, taxi drivers, and hairstylists across the United States.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
Every time Barry turned on the TV or got into a taxi with Mom or Dad, another voice was talking about the hurricane.
From "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005" by Lauren Tarshis
That's due in part to the city council's December 4 passage of a legislative framework that essentially allows Uber and other taxi- and sedan-hailing services to operate.
From Inc ● Jan. 14, 2013
A few of the taxi- cabs have come back; but all the auto-buses without exception are away behind the front.
From Over There War Scenes on the Western Front by Arnold Bennett
"The population of Paris has revolted and is hurrying to ask mercy from us!" thought the reconnoitring simpletons in Taubes, when they noted beneath them the incredible processions of taxi- cabs going north.
From Over There War Scenes on the Western Front by Arnold Bennett
It escaped because tens of thousands of soldiers in thousands of taxi- cabs advanced more rapidly than any soldiers could be expected to advance.
From Over There War Scenes on the Western Front by Arnold Bennett
Drivers and passengers of private cars, buses and taxies entering or exiting Changchun must present negative tests for the coronavirus taken within the past 48 hours.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2022
Did a similar trip a few years ago but took local jitney's, buses, trains, taxies, even a small plane.
From New York Times ● Dec. 13, 2016
Shifting some of the load to third party services such as Uber, Lyft or taxies would help reduce some of the load placed on already-burdened emergency service providers.
From The Verge ● Jul. 17, 2016
In Lagos, there were motorcycle taxies that could zip through the traffic jams.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 16, 2016
All the taxies were hired, all going downtown.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
In Nairobi and other major towns, migrants from the region can be found working in barber shops and salons, construction, operating motorbike taxis and street vending, as well as selling clothes, food and household goods.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Toaster-shaped taxis that don’t have a driver or a steering wheel have started rolling across San Francisco and charging for rides in Las Vegas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Vermont-based Beta Technologies is also competing in the race to deploy air taxis at a commercial scale.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Boeing is also letting go of Wisk Aero, which is developing electric, autonomous air taxis, and SkyGrid, an air-traffic management system for autonomous flights.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
I pan down the line of taxis, right up until Hina and I enter one.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
Planes have to be located, then towed or taxied.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
The plane was carrying 242 people as it taxied along the runway at Ahmedabad International Airport on Thursday afternoon.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2025
Pilots declared an emergency so the flight could be be routed quickly back to the airport, and the plane landed and taxied to a gate under its own power, according to the airline.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2024
As Air Force Two taxied for takeoff bound for Germany, Vice President Kamala Harris made her way through the plane handing out heart-shaped Valentine’s Day cookies.
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2024
It was in the lowest spirits that he taxied across to his work at the Conditioning Centre.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
As their planes were taxiing, Trump announced that he would nominate Jay Clayton, a U.S. attorney and former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, to the position permanently.
From Slate ● Jun. 13, 2026
The smell started while the plane was taxiing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
Analysts are comfortable that Joby’s business is taxiing toward takeoff, but its pricey multiple has tipped Wall Street’s average rating to a Sell.
From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 2025
He would have expected to have been alerted by a "taxiing" radio call if that situation changed.
From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2025
But a group of Yak fighters was taxiing along the runway.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
He had to jump out of the way as the "taxying" airplane bore down on him.
From Uncle Sam's Boys with Pershing's Troops Dick Prescott at Grips with the Boche by H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock
And taxying to Teano's, I told him in a few words what a mess I'd made of things.
From Lord John in New York by A. M. (Alice Muriel) Williamson
We were getting near the aerodrome, on which, to my great relief, a machine was "taxying" towards the hangars.
From 'Green Balls' The Adventures of a Night-Bomber by Paul Bewsher
Bob had been taxying about slowly since landing, in order to keep the engine going and the propeller slowly revolving.
From The Radio Boys with the Revenue Guards by Gerald Breckenridge
Out through the open doorway Reade sent the airplane "taxying" or running along the ground.
From Uncle Sam's Boys with Pershing's Troops Dick Prescott at Grips with the Boche by H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock
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.
