car
noun
an automobile.
car
1 American
[kahr]
/ kɑr /
noun
-
cars
plural
-
an automobile.
-
a vehicle running on rails, as a streetcar or railroad car.
-
the part of an elevator, balloon, modern airship, etc., that carries the passengers, freight, etc.
-
British Dialect. any wheeled vehicle, as a farm cart or wagon.
-
Literary. a chariot, as of war or triumph.
-
Archaic. cart; carriage.
car
2
American
[kahr]
/ kɑr /
CAR
3
American
car.
4
American
abbreviation
car
1
British
/ kɑː /
noun
-
-
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
-
( as modifier )
car coat
-
-
a conveyance for passengers, freight, etc, such as a cable car or the carrier of an airship or balloon
-
a railway vehicle for passengers only, such as a sleeping car or buffet car
-
a railway carriage or van
-
the enclosed platform of a lift
-
a poetic word for chariot
CAR
2
British
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
Safety concerns have risen in China recently over sleek car designs that are prone to losing operability in the event of a crash.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
A former Race Across the World contestant has died, a year after her son and co-star's death in a car crash.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Former National Assembly deputy Nguyen Sy Cuong was indeed driving his car down Nguyen Huy Tu Street on 30 May, 2025, when his vehicle suddenly swerved across the road and into an oncoming motorcycle.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
San Francisco car break-ins dropped from 22,700 in 2022 to 1,764 so far in 2026.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
She signals for the cab driver to wait and tells me to get out of the car.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
His alleged misconduct comes as France and the CAR are working to improve their bilateral relationship which had been strained in the past.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
"CAR is the cortisol rise that all people experience in the morning, peaking around 30 minutes after they wake up," Cservenka said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
He used his remission to promote CAR T-cell therapy, which genetically alters one’s cells to fight cancer, after he said chemotherapy stopped working.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Avis Budget’s CAR 5.14%increase; green up pointing triangle wild ride this year just took another unusual turn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
The message buzzed in: what part of CAR COMING!
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
“They went the next day and got the car. There was no contract, no paper,” Ma said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
“As we improve the software, you can feel the sentience growing in the car. It feels alive.”
From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026
“It just feels like a nicely optioned, loaded car. The tech is fantastic,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
"We were shocked and we quickly packed and woke up the kids and got in the car. Now we're stuck on blocked roads because of the massive displacement from the south."
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
“I’ll check the water in the car. Ugwu, lock up quick! Don’t forget the Boys’ Quarters.”
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
U.S. tariffs on Canadian automobiles now stand at 25%, with discounts for the U.S. content in cars, while steel tariffs are at 50%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
But some spectators were left disappointed, telling the BBC they couldn't actually see any cars go by.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Xiaomi began recalling around 390,000 units of its 2024 SU7 series on Friday, and XPeng started recalling nearly 265,000 cars on Saturday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
Up for review: A mandate to increase the share of EVs sold annually, and how the U.K. can ensure all new cars and vans are zero emissions by 2035.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Instead, I see a long line of black cars.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
