milk float

American  

noun

British.

1. a motor vehicle, usually battery powered, in which bottles or cartons of milk and other dairy products are delivered to homes by a daily or regular route.

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milk float British  

noun

1. a small motor vehicle used to deliver milk to houses

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Etymology

Origin of milk float

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

His modification of a Land Rover Discovery for calf-feeding rounds - an off-road milk float - earned him third place in the Farmers Weekly inventions competition in 2020.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

"It will be really old school. Where possible, I'll be driving my old milk float," Mr Luke said.

From BBC • Sep. 1, 2024

The view from a walkway ‘wide enough for a milk float’.

From The Guardian • Aug. 20, 2011

Regeneration charity Groundwork London is giving a retired milk float a second lease of life as its first electric vehicle.

From The Guardian • Jul. 5, 2010

Then he phoned his employer and told him where he could find the milk float leaving it up to the employer to mollify all the irate customers.

From Coming of Age: 1939-1946 by Cox, John