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.
Marquez was taken away in an ambulance and was not involved in the restart, with his team Gresini Racing saying he was conscious.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
Longet was with Sabich in the ambulance when he died en route to the Aspen hospital.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
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
I hadn’t seen Carl for a while, but he came that morning to pick me up in the ambulance because it was the last day of school.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
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.
