runabout

[ ruhn-uh-bout ]

/ ˈrʌn əˌbaʊt /

noun

a small, light automobile or other vehicle, usually with an open top; roadster.

a small pleasure motorboat.

a person who roves around from place to place or group to group.

Words nearby runabout

run-of-the-mine, run-on, run-on sentence, run-out, run-through, runabout, runagate, runanga, runaround, runaway, runaway star

Origin of runabout

First recorded in 1540–50; noun use of verb phrase run about

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for runabout

So the girl and boy chums were on the road in the runabout soon after eight.
The Corner House Girls on a Tour|Grace Brooks Hill
After dinner I requested Peggy to make me happy by going for a little drive in the runabout with me.
The Whole Family|William Dean Howells, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Mary Heaton
This was accomplished by means of ropes hitched to the Thirty though the runabout had sunk almost out of sight.
The Auto Boys' Quest|James A Braden
A good match meant one who owned not only a runabout, but a touring car.
Vera|Richard Harding Davis

The machine I hired was one of those doublets for two persons, one seat, you know, a runabout.
Peck's Bad Boy With the Cowboys|George W. Peck

British Dictionary definitions for runabout

runabout

/ (ˈrʌnəˌbaʊt) /

noun

a small car, esp one for use in a town

a light aircraft

a light motorboat

a person who moves about constantly or busily

verb run about

(intr, adverb) to move busily from place to place

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012