four-wheel drive
Americannoun
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four-wheel drives
plural
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a drive system in which engine power is transmitted to all four wheels for improved traction.
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a vehicle having such a system. 4WD
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of four-wheel drive
First recorded in 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.
Now Uber says it has removed its familiar branding from the sides of its four-wheel drive vehicles to avoid provoking a fight with the traditional guides.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
New South Wales police said on Friday that one man was missing after his four-wheel drive was swept into a fast-flowing river.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2025
We rented a four-wheel drive van and stayed in Mariposa.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2024
A forest ranger in a four-wheel drive picks me up.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2024
He climbed into the cab, put it into four-wheel drive, and shifted into first gear.
From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar
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.
