Black Maria

[ muh-rahy-uh ]

Origin of Black Maria

1
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Words Nearby Black Maria

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Black Maria in a sentence

  • To Lee it felt uncanny to sit trapped and blindfolded in this "Black Maria" of a car while unseen rays and cameras went over him.

    The Brain | Alexander Blade
  • He accordingly went up to the driver of the Black Maria, who, cap in hand, was wiping his perspiring forehead.

    His Lordship's Leopard | David Dwight Wells
  • Ed took the Black Maria to the house, and we took the street cars for it to the end of the line, and then walked.

  • Miles had been making time with the Black Maria for about a week, when the big accident happened in our town.

  • At the prison the scene is repeated in reverse, and the Black Maria presently rumbles away empty.

    Dr. Sevier | George W. Cable

British Dictionary definitions for Black Maria

Black Maria

/ (məˈraɪə) /


noun
  1. a police van for transporting prisoners

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012