ambulance
Americannoun
-
ambulances
plural
-
a specially equipped motor vehicle, airplane, ship, etc., for carrying sick or injured people, usually to a hospital.
-
(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
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!
English Words Derived from French, List 2
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!
National Nurses Week: Tasks and Equipment
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:
Prime cameras showed him climbing into an ambulance under his own power and still wearing his pads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Raw’ or something out there, you know, seeing the cameras on me when I got out of the ambulance, that was a little crazy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Once Mr. Vlasenko reached safety, a cushioned land drone helped him move to an ambulance from the hexacopter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
It was not long before local people arrived, followed by the police and ambulance services of the Guardia Civil.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
If anyone was found, Dad told me, we should go to the marina at Rock Hall, where an ambulance was waiting.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
Residents had a four-hour window to leave before a convoy of 25 buses, with space for 750 people, left the town on Friday afternoon - along with ambulances for people with limited mobility.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
On the day of our visit, due to the pressures, 33% of the ambulances were released within 45 minutes, but it was 67% for the previous 30 days - a huge improvement compared to before.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
One reason people are treated in open spaces is to free up the ambulances arriving outside - we counted at least eight waiting outside during our visit.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 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
Police cars and ambulances lit scenes of chaos in flashing blue and red.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
