Synonyms

four-wheel drive

American

noun

Automotive.

a drive system in which engine power is transmitted to all four wheels for improved traction.
a vehicle having such a system. 4WD

four-wheel drive British

noun

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

"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

Other Word Forms

four-wheel-drive adjective

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.

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

From BBC

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

The rental van was four-wheel drive, but I creeped.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From BBC

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

From Los Angeles Times

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