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Synonyms

cable car

American  
Or cable-car

noun

  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

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

Iconic Angels Flight, the over 100-year-old funicular cable car, is moving its final service from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m. until the curfew ends.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2025

They sat on the wooden benches that ran along the outside of the cable car, facing the sidewalk.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

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.