chassis
Americannoun
plural
chassis-
Automotive. the frame, wheels, and machinery of a motor vehicle, on which the body is supported.
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Ordnance. the frame or railway on which a gun carriage moves backward and forward.
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the main landing gear of an aircraft; that portion of the landing gear that supports an aircraft.
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Radio and Television. a frame for mounting the circuit components of a radio or television set.
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a construction forming the sides, top, and bottom of a cabinet, showcase, or the like.
noun
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the steel frame, wheels, engine, and mechanical parts of a motor vehicle, to which the body is attached
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electronics a mounting for the circuit components of an electrical or electronic device, such as a radio or television
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the landing gear of an aircraft
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obsolete a wooden framework for a window, screen, etc
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the frame on which a cannon carriage moves backwards and forwards
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slang the body of a person, esp a woman
Etymology
Origin of chassis
1655–65; < French châssis frame; akin to chase 2
Explanation
A chassis is the frame of a car. If you warp the chassis of your mom’s car when you make a Dukes of Hazzard jump, she's going to be mad. Pronounce chassis CHASS-ee (singular) and CHASS-eez (plural). Chassis comes from the Latin capsa, meaning box. In the 1600s, chassis referred to window frames, and starting with early automobile production, acquired its dominant meaning, i.e., the box that is the frame for the car. It also means other kinds of frame/boxes too — if you have a radio or a stereo, the outside box is called a chassis.
Vocabulary lists containing chassis
The Lightning Thief
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
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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 bones and the chassis of the garment are very much performance-based, but the body that goes over top of it — what we see — should be stylish,” says Heifner.
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026
The company unveiled the car’s chassis, motor, and battery pack in October, although soft sales guidance overshadowed the luxury launch event.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
The chassis is mounted on hydraulic pillars, so that it gives a sensation of movement in terms of pitch and roll and bumps and so on.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
They traded in Mark’s 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air for a chassis and spent eight years competing on weekends all over the country.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
Sometimes compressor pumps and material can be mounted on truck chassis, but there is no blanket spraying.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
