ambulance

American  

[am-byuh-luhns] / ˈæm bjə ləns /

noun

• ambulances
  plural

1. a specially equipped motor vehicle, airplane, ship, etc., for carrying sick or injured people, usually to a hospital.

2. (formerly) a field hospital.

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ambulance British  

/ ˈæmbjʊləns /

noun

1. a motor vehicle designed to carry sick or injured people

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ambulances
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of ambulance

1800–10; < French, equivalent to ( hôpital ) ambul ( ant ) walking (hospital) + -ance -ance. See ambulant

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Explanation

An ambulance is an emergency vehicle that transports people to the hospital in emergencies. If you see that someone's been injured in a car accident, it's a good idea to call an ambulance. People who are terribly sick, or who are unexpectedly hurt or injured, often need to get to a hospital quickly, and this is what an ambulance is for. As the patient is driven to a hospital, with the ambulance's lights flashing and siren sounding, he or she is often treated by an emergency medical technician. The word comes from the French phrase hôpital ambulant, or "walking hospital," from the Latin ambulare, "to walk."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ambulance ambulances

Two months ago, the pair were driving to work in Kissimmee, central Florida when they were hit by another car and taken to hospital in an ambulance.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

He told someone in the shop to call an ambulance, and then used a defibrillator to start Ashley's heart.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

“The ambulance comes up, and I’m there, and everybody’s looking at me like, ‘What are you gonna do?’”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

“And I said, ‘OK, we’re going to get an ambulance,’” which required first getting permission for an ambulance to enter the Native American reserve where the bus was stopped, Van Gorp explained.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

The first call was from Carl, who had just driven the ambulance back to the station.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

One reason people are treated in open spaces is to free up the ambulances arriving outside - we counted at least eight waiting outside during our visit.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

A stream of ambulances were seen arriving at the hospital and one doctor told Canadian public broadcaster CBC that the facility had been "completely overwhelmed" by the number of patients.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

Yorkshire Ambulance Service said it had sent two ambulances by road and an air ambulance to the scene.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

Several ambulances and a few helicopters were sent to collect the wounded and take them to King Fahad hospital in Riyadh, one of the officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

In fact they sent two ambulances, a second in case the first succumbed to the storm.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

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