Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

cable car

American  
Or cable-car

noun

cable cars plural
  1. a vehicle, usually enclosed, used on a cable railway or tramway.


cable car British  

noun

  1. a cabin suspended from and moved by an overhead cable in a mountain area

  2. a cableway

  3. a passenger car on a cable railway

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of cable car

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75

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.

The cable car service was suspended, and public broadcaster SRF said between 100 and 200 passengers were brought to safety from about 40 gondolas.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

A more convenient cable car to and from the entrance of Cortina has not been completed.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

Meagan, I learned, had never experienced the scenic, hair-raising, cable car ride that connects the small mountain town of Khulo with the tiny village of Tago.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025

By 2001 the building was bought by the Von Essen hotel group who intended to spend £4m to re-open the hotel, equipped with a cable car to allow access from the mainland.

From BBC • Aug. 16, 2025

“There should be a cable car any minute now.”

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "cable car" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com