ambulance
Americannoun
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ambulances
plural
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a specially equipped motor vehicle, airplane, ship, etc., for carrying sick or injured people, usually to a hospital.
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(formerly) a field hospital.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ambulance
1800–10; < French, equivalent to ( hôpital ) ambul ( ant ) walking (hospital) + -ance -ance. See ambulant
Explanation
An ambulance is an emergency vehicle that transports people to the hospital in emergencies. If you see that someone's been injured in a car accident, it's a good idea to call an ambulance. People who are terribly sick, or who are unexpectedly hurt or injured, often need to get to a hospital quickly, and this is what an ambulance is for. As the patient is driven to a hospital, with the ambulance's lights flashing and siren sounding, he or she is often treated by an emergency medical technician. The word comes from the French phrase hôpital ambulant, or "walking hospital," from the Latin ambulare, "to walk."
Vocabulary lists containing ambulance
Walk the Walk: Amb
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English Words Derived from French, List 2
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National Nurses Week: Tasks and Equipment
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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:
Fire crews and the air ambulance were also called to the incident that involved a red Peugeot 107 and a silver Volkswagen Passat.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Those who were pulled from the water were flown by helicopter to San Diego, where they were taken via ambulance to local hospitals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Yorkshire Ambulance Service said it had sent two ambulances by road and an air ambulance to the scene.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
But both A&Es and ambulance services also saw a record number of patients for the month of September.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Surrounded by policemen on horses, the ambulance sped down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
A stream of ambulances were seen arriving at the hospital and one doctor told Canadian public broadcaster CBC that the facility had been "completely overwhelmed" by the number of patients.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Several ambulances and a few helicopters were sent to collect the wounded and take them to King Fahad hospital in Riyadh, one of the officials said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Analysts say the move would allow Seoul to provide North Korea with humanitarian aid including ambulances and medical sterilisation tools.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The journalist reported seeing firefighters attempting to extinguish a blaze at the energy giant's Riyadh refinery, located south of the capital, while ambulances and police vehicles were stationed near the facility.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
Two ambulances were parked at the side of the road, their back doors open.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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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.
