car
1 Americannoun
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an automobile.
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a vehicle running on rails, as a streetcar or railroad car.
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the part of an elevator, balloon, modern airship, etc., that carries the passengers, freight, etc.
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British Dialect. any wheeled vehicle, as a farm cart or wagon.
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Literary. a chariot, as of war or triumph.
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Archaic. cart; carriage.
abbreviation
noun
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Also called: motorcar. automobile. a self-propelled road vehicle designed to carry passengers, esp one with four wheels that is powered by an internal-combustion engine
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( as modifier )
car coat
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a conveyance for passengers, freight, etc, such as a cable car or the carrier of an airship or balloon
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a railway vehicle for passengers only, such as a sleeping car or buffet car
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a railway carriage or van
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the enclosed platform of a lift
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a poetic word for chariot
abbreviation
Usage
What else does car mean? To most of us on the outside, a car is a vehicle with a motor and four wheels. But in prison slang, your car is your crew, especially when it comes to drugs, protection, and money-making.
Other Word Forms
- carless adjective
Etymology
Origin of car1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English carre, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin carra (feminine singular), from Latin, neuter plural of carrum, variant of carrus “baggage cart, freight wagon,” from Gaulish; akin to Old Irish carr “wheeled vehicle”
Origin of car2
First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English ( Scots ), from Scots Gaelic ceàrr “false, left, wrong”
Origin of CAR3
First recorded in 1980–85
Explanation
Your car is your automobile, your wheels, your vehicle. A car can also be another kind of moving compartment — such as a railroad car, a cable car, or a trolley car. The word car has been around much longer than the automobile. It comes from the Latin carrus, a kind of wagon the Romans discovered from the Gauls, a European people the Romans conquered. It shows up in Italian and Spanish (carro, meaning "a car or a cart," and it also survives in various forms in modern Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Breton, German, and other languages. When you’re listening to your engine purr, you can thank the Gauls. And the Romans.
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.
He was identified using facial recognition and arrested in March from his car, alongside passenger Dale Howell, 25, both from Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
Harry chose the name Sentebale as a tribute to Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 when the prince was just 12.
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
Far from cheapening the brand, Ferrari’s rabid base of superfans only enhances the brand’s appeal to clients who can afford to pay millions of dollars for a car they will rarely drive.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Who wouldn’t want to see the famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy delivered by Ahmed behind the wheel of a speeding car?
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
She looks back again, to the man waiting in the car.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
