dump truck

American

Or dumptruck

noun

a usually open-topped truck having a body that can be tilted to discharge its contents, as sand or gravel, through an open tailgate.

dump truck British

/ ˈdʌmpə- /

noun

a small truck used on building sites, having a load-bearing container at the front that can be tipped up to unload the contents

"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 dump truck

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30

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 mighty yellow dump truck, as it is known, made its debut in 1964.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 14, 2025

Save for the wagon full of bits and tools the National Alliance to End Homelessness and outreach workers were able to save from the dump truck, everything else was thrown away.

From Slate • Oct. 8, 2025

They walked about 60 metres and heard a loud crash noise "like a rock falling, like a dump truck had dropped a load of rocks" at 18:02.

From BBC • Sep. 4, 2025

Inside, church volunteers had made quilts for the beds and set out an orange and yellow plastic dump truck and other toys for the couple’s son.

From Seattle Times • May 5, 2024

Imagine a dump truck arriving once each year at the base of a mountain, filling up with a single load, and driving off, not to reappear for another twelve months.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023