lorry

American  

[lawr-ee, lor-ee] / ˈlɔr i, ˈlɒr i /

noun

plural

lorries

1. Chiefly British. a motor truck, especially a large one.

2. any of various conveyances running on rails, as for transporting material in a mine or factory.

3. a long, low, horse-drawn wagon without sides.

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lorry British  

/ ˈlɒrɪ /

noun

1. US and Canadian name: truck.  a large motor vehicle designed to carry heavy loads, esp one with a flat platform See also articulated vehicle

2. informal a phrase used humorously to imply that something has been dishonestly acquired

   it fell off the back of a lorry

3. any of various vehicles with a flat load-carrying surface, esp one designed to run on rails

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Etymology

Origin of lorry

First recorded in 1830–40; akin to dial. lurry to pull, drag, lug

Example Sentences

Officers had become suspicious of how he was driving his lorry, which was carrying 28 pallets of underwear and clothing, and they x-rayed it at the port.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

"It happened on a bend and there was a lorry coming the opposite way so I had no choice but to go over it. It was a bit scary."

From BBC • May 14, 2026

His story was that while awaiting his asylum decision he hitched a lift in a lorry that he thought was taking him to Manchester, but found himself back in France.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

A jury decided only lorry driver Bernard Beeton and David Welham, then aged seven, who had handed in coins they found, should get to keep a share.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

A pair of women on bicycles pull off the road and gape at the truck as its passes: some infernal lorry sent to blight their town.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Related Words

• car
• crate
• freighter
• jeep
• pickup
• rig
• van
• wagon