lorry
Americannoun
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Chiefly British. a motor truck, especially a large one.
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any of various conveyances running on rails, as for transporting material in a mine or factory.
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a long, low, horse-drawn wagon without sides.
noun
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US and Canadian name: truck. a large motor vehicle designed to carry heavy loads, esp one with a flat platform See also articulated vehicle
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informal a phrase used humorously to imply that something has been dishonestly acquired
it fell off the back of a lorry
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any of various vehicles with a flat load-carrying surface, esp one designed to run on rails
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lorry
First recorded in 1830–40; akin to dial. lurry to pull, drag, lug
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.
Surrey Police said the earlier crash involved a white Mercedes Vito van, driven by the male patient who is in his 30s, and a white lorry.
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026
Three undercover investigators posing as wannabe lorry drivers turned up for medical tests, booked online and scheduled for the same time at three different locations across the UK in 2019.
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026
On 27 June 2025, while on duty in an unmarked car, Surrey PC Jay Wakefield saw a crash involving a car and a lorry on the A281 in Shermanbury in West Sussex.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
About 10 police vehicles were in attendance, with a Lime bike, cement lorry, two cars and a moped parked within the cordon.
From BBC • May 23, 2026
As it crawled up the steep incline, a young man jumped out and ran alongside, carrying a wood block, ready to throw it behind the back tire if the lorry were to roll back.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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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.