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:
"The shared objective is to strengthen the competitiveness of the sports car manufacturer and secure as many jobs as possible in the long term," the company said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
When her wife got out of the car to film and confront ICE officers, Good was told to leave, then ordered to get out of the car.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Joshua was fighting for the first time since surviving the car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif 'Latz' Ayodele.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Albon qualified behind Carlos Sainz but led his team-mate home in a race where neither car looked remotely competitive.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
I totally forgot with all the drama that happened in the car.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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
The results suggest a possible path toward improving treatment for cancers that currently respond poorly to CAR T-cell therapy, particularly solid tumors.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 2, 2026
Citing REA Group, WiseTech, CAR Group, Xero and Pro Medicus as their key picks, the analysts highlight proprietary data, integrations and network effects as important differentiators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
Rental car company Avis CAR -0.47%decrease; red down pointing triangle has singled out a hedge-fund firm’s trading activity for fueling “excess volatility” in its stock in recent weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 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
"Luckily, I was in the last car. I feel like I was given a second chance at life."
From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026
“That’s what Grandma called it back in the car. I’m sorry, I don’t know what that means,” I admit.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
I now use vision models, the same technology that powers driverless cars, and I work with sovereign wealth funds on systematic signals for commodities trading.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
She volunteered to walk them out to their cars, using her white body as a kind of shield.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
For these cars, and these engineers, the Blue Bird of Happiness sounds like a squawking flock of Michelins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Three fire engines and two fire service cars were destroyed in the blaze.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
She played that darn rock ’n’ roll music at top volume as a teenager, and she liked boys who drove noisy cars.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
