ambulance
Americannoun
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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
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.
On learning of the arrest warrant, James called for an ambulance for his brother and claimed he had fallen unwell on 14 August and could not walk.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
It added she had been transferred by ambulance to a hospital in Tehran "to be treated by her own medical team".
From Barron's • May 10, 2026
And it alleges that paramedics who responded to the crash with the private ambulance company American Medical Response treated the deputy and transported him before attending to Fox’s and Hinkley’s more serious injuries.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
“I saw an ambulance stuck in standstill traffic announcing over a megaphone for pedestrians and vehicles to move out of the way,” Rose wrote.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
Their train to Millerstown was leaving soon, and an ambulance was waiting to take Marco to the hospital.
From "I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912" by Lauren Tarshis
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.
