Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for carhop. Search instead for carhops.
Synonyms

carhop

American  
[kahr-hop] / ˈkɑrˌhɒp /

noun

  1. a person who serves customers in their cars. at a drive-in restaurant.


verb (used without object)

carhopped, carhopping
  1. to work as a carhop.

carhop British  
/ ˈkɑːˌhɒp /

noun

  1. informal a waiter or waitress at a drive-in restaurant

"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 carhop

First recorded in 1935–40; car 1 + (bell)hop


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:

After class, she would take everyone home before heading to her second job as a carhop at Sonic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 27, 2025

His second wife, Lee Roberts, was more amenable to his racing, supporting him with money from her job as a carhop at a drive-in restaurant.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2023

Inspired by Mel’s Drive-In, which recently announced that it will be resurrecting its ’50s-era carhop service to attract more customers, the Burbank location is offering its own carhop delivery and free churros.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2020

Three years ago, he was a carhop at a Sonic Drive-In in Garland, Tex.

From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2018

My high school friends would still have been whining over boyfriends and fighting for carhop jobs at the A&W. Their idea of a dog-eat-dog world was Beauty School.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Guests can charge their Teslas while getting ‘epic bacon’ and tuna melts carhopped to their vehicles, and other unique quirks we learned at the opening of Elon Musk’s new Tesla Diner in Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training