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• van
  van

  noun

  the foremost or front division of an army, a fleet, or any group leading an advance or in position to lead an advance.
• Van
  Van

  noun

  Lake, a salt lake in E Turkey. 1,454 sq. mi. (3,766 sq. km).

van

¹ American  

[van] / væn /

noun

1. the foremost or front division of an army, a fleet, or any group leading an advance or in position to lead an advance.

2. those who are in the forefront of a movement or the like.

3. the forefront in any movement, course of progress, or the like.

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van ² American  

[van] / væn /

noun

1. a covered vehicle, usually a large truck or trailer, used for moving furniture, goods, animals, etc.

2. a smaller boxlike vehicle that resembles a panel truck, often has double doors both at the rear and along the curb side, and that can be used as a truck, fitted with rows of seats, or equipped with living quarters for traveling and camping.

3. British.

   1. a railway baggage car.

   2. a covered, boxlike railway car, as one used to carry freight.

   3. a small, horse-drawn wagon or a small truck, as one used by tradespeople to carry light goods.

4. Also called van conversion.  a conventional van whose cargo area has been equipped with living facilities, extra windows, and often increased headroom.

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verb (used with object)

vanned, vanning

1. to transport or carry (freight, passengers, etc.) in a van.

verb (used without object)

vanned, vanning

1. to travel in a van.

van ³ American  

[van, vahn] / væn, vɑn /

Or Van

preposition

1. from; of (used in Dutch personal names, originally to indicate place of origin).

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van ⁴ American  

[van] / væn /

noun

Archaic.

1. a bird's wing or tail, especially when fanned out, as in flight or as part of a mating display.

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Van ⁵ American  

[van, vahn] / væn, vɑn /

noun

1. Lake, a salt lake in E Turkey. 1,454 sq. mi. (3,766 sq. km).

2. a town on this lake.

3. a male given name.

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van ¹ British  

/ væn /

noun

1. short for caravan

2. a covered motor vehicle for transporting goods, etc, by road

3. a closed railway wagon in which the guard travels, for transporting goods, mail, etc

4. See delivery van

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Van ² British  

/ vɑːn /

noun

1. a city in E Turkey, on Lake Van. Pop: 377 000 (2005 est)

2. a salt lake in E Turkey, at an altitude of 1650 m (5400 ft): fed by melting snow and glaciers. Area: 3737 sq km (1433 sq miles)

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van ³ British  

/ væn /

noun

1. any device for winnowing corn

2. an archaic or poetic word for wing

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van ⁴ British  

/ væn /

noun

1. short for vanguard

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van ⁵ British  

/ væn /

noun

1. Usual US and Canadian word: ad.  short for advantage

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Etymology

Origin of van¹

First recorded in 1600–10; short for vanguard

Origin of van²

First recorded in 1820–30; short for caravan

Origin of van³

From Dutch

Origin of van⁴

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, variant of fan ¹

Explanation

A van is a roomy vehicle with a boxy shape that's useful for transporting extra people or extra stuff. If you're moving some furniture across town, your mom's van will come in handy. There are many kinds of vans, from commercial vans that deliver appliances to airport vans that transport hotel guests and their luggage to the small vans parked in many suburban driveways. A less common meaning of van is "forefront," and this meaning is usually used when talking about military movement: "The general was at the van of the troops as they surged forward." The vehicle definition comes from caravan, "large covered carriage used for conveying passengers."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

van Van vanned vanning

“Animals that are more skittish—like elephants or buffalo—are more on their guard when they hear an engine running,” said van der Steuijt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

For the next couple of weeks, she’d couch surf until ultimately sleeping in her van, waking up early to wait tables at an oyster bar on Sunset Boulevard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The council said the law required a 19:00 cut-off time for ice cream van operators to use their chimes, but it did not "prevent them from trading after this time".

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

"Farage's plan to turn this by-election into a serious political battle failed," Queen Mary University of London politics professor Stijn van Kessel told AFP, noting the resulting spectacle "makes Farage look rather silly".

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

There was a new nurse at Dr. van Veen’s and I spent a miserable, silent half-hour in the waiting room.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

There could be legal proceedings to decide whether the money goes to any descendants of the Van Assche family, the organization carrying out the work or the workers themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

To test the importance of warming speed, Van Westen and his colleagues ran two versions of a climate model.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

She was previously the national press secretary for the Republican National Committee and worked for Representative Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Van der Meer tied the current housing-market doldrums to the long period of underinvestment in the offshore oil industry.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

As luck would have it, though, the only English-language film being shown in Belgrade was Lust for Life, the lush biopic of the mad nineteenth-century Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Midnight Empress was pulled up by jockey Javier Castellano in the ninth race on May 28 and vanned off by equine ambulance, according to the New York Gaming Commission.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

In the Pat Day Mile race, Freezing Points was pulled up in the chute shortly after the start of the race, vanned off and later given a lethal injection.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2023

Spun Intended was pulled up in front of the grandstand by jockey Mike Smith and vanned off.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 8, 2023

In addition to the two horses that died at Del Mar on Sunday, there was a third horse that was pulled up and vanned off, Princess Dorian.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2019

Smith, preparing to take his Kayak east, vanned Seabiscuit to Ridgewood, said his good-byes, and left him in Pollard’s care.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

The proposal would also help pay for the cost of vanning horses and relocation expenses for horsemen, including grooms and trainers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2024

In fact, vanning enthusiasts include a good many old coots as well as young marrieds, loners and lovers as well as adolescents.

From Time Magazine Archive

The short answer is that vanning has become an American craze.

From Time Magazine Archive

News of ever fresh extravagances circulates in 25 or so magazines devoted to vanning.

From Time Magazine Archive

For the following information, as well as for much of that already given about vanning, we are indebted to Captain Reynolds, of Cook's Kitchen Mine.

From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer

Related Words

• camper
• cart
• truck
• wagon