four-wheel drive

noun

Automotive.

1. a drive system in which engine power is transmitted to all four wheels for improved traction.

2. a vehicle having such a system. 4WD

four-wheel drive

noun

1. a system used in motor vehicles in which all four wheels are connected to the source of power

Other Word Forms

• four-wheel-drive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of four-wheel drive¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Our four-wheel drive vehicle struggled up the steep road the Cambodians have built to climb the cliff.

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New South Wales police said on Friday that one man was missing after his four-wheel drive was swept into a fast-flowing river.

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We rented a four-wheel drive van and stayed in Mariposa.

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A forest ranger in a four-wheel drive picks me up.

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They had a kind of hysterical look and emphatically told us not to try, even though my Toyota Highlander SUV has four-wheel drive.

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