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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Greetings, World Traveler! — List 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Unit 5
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Riders can now travel to Torrance, El Segundo, and Manhattan Beach in a Waymo driverless taxi, but they still won’t be able to call a ride to or from Los Angeles International Airport.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
In May, Waymo launched its next-generation taxi dubbed the Ojai, which is cheaper to deploy and better equipped for extreme weather conditions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
Richard De La Haye has been a taxi driver for more than 40 years and believes the drone activity is affecting business for drivers like him.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
The taxi line is where the magic happened.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
While FBI agents raced to the home of Herbie Haupt's uncle, Herbie had already gone to the draft board and registered, and was in a taxi on his way to the FBI office in Chicago.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
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
Some local officials in San Diego objected to Waymo’s presence and asked the state for more authority over when and where the taxis can be deployed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
LAX, one of the most important destinations for taxis, isn’t sure it wants to open up to Waymo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Swift, who has been treated for three types of cancer and has had two heart attacks, said when he rang hospital taxis, he was asked if he could walk, climb stairs and owned a car.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
They fear the displacement of traffic on to their roads, with buses, taxis and bikes being rerouted to adjacent streets.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
He walks slowly into the airport terminal and through the building and out to a curving road where taxis are always parked.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
First, as the team charter taxied to the runway, a fuel pump alert came on in the cockpit, forcing the aircraft to return to its gate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025
The last was in July 2023, when a colleague complained of an acrid or vomit-like smell and was struggling to breathe as their aircraft taxied down the runway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2025
The airline confirmed that the plane had landed safely and had "taxied to stand as normal".
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 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
Maddie had taxied this familiar airfield and roared down the rutted runway in her head so many times it felt as though she’d done it before; or as though she were dreaming now.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
“While taxiing at Los Angeles International Airport, a Delta aircraft made contact with an Air Canada aircraft,” according to the Delta statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
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 vehicle operator noticed the aircraft taxiing in and left the area with the remaining cargo.
From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2026
Two months before the ping pong match, Weiland had noticed an intense smell of engine oil as he was taxiing his Boeing 767 down the runway at Miami International Airport.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
He would greet visitors, ask them to sign the guest book, and then direct them, like he was an air-traffic controller and they were taxiing airplanes, to the Serenity Suite.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
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
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
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
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
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
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
