lowrider

American  

[loh-rahy-der] / ˈloʊˈraɪ dər /

noun

1. an individually decorated and customized car fitted with hydraulic jacks that permit lowering of the chassis nearly to the road.

2. a person, often a teenager, who owns and drives such a car.

---

Etymology

Origin of lowrider

First recorded in 1975–80; low ¹ + rider

Example Sentences

Earlier in 2025, the My Ride column featured Sandy Avila, a construction company office administration manager living in Pasadena, Calif., and her 1966 Chevrolet Impala SS lowrider that she named Highly Favored.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025

Sandy Avila, a 42-year-old construction company office administration manager living in Pasadena, Calif., on her 1966 Chevrolet Impala SS lowrider, as told to A.J.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025

I was part of the lowrider culture before I was part of the photography world, so I was showing what I was around earlier on, which was hip-hop and lowriding.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2025

But there’s a big project she still needs to tackle: She doesn’t have her own lowrider.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2025

There’s a lowrider that’s painted to look like a box of Froot Loops, and a truck on some of the biggest rims I’ve ever seen in my life.

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas