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• sedan
  sedan

  noun

  an enclosed automobile body having two or four doors and seating four or more persons on two full-width seats.
• Sedan
  Sedan

  noun

  a city in NE France, on the Meuse River: defeat and capture of Napoleon III 1870.

sedan

¹ American  

[si-dan] / sɪˈdæn /

noun

• sedans
  plural

1. an enclosed automobile body having two or four doors and seating four or more persons on two full-width seats.

2. sedan chair.

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Sedan ² American  

[si-dan, suh-dahn] / sɪˈdæn, səˈdɑ̃ /

noun

1. a city in NE France, on the Meuse River: defeat and capture of Napoleon III 1870.

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sedan ¹ British  

/ sɪˈdæn /

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): saloon. a closed two-door or four-door car with four to six seats

2. short for sedan chair

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Sedan ² British  

/ sədɑ̃, sɪˈdæn /

noun

1. a town in NE France, on the River Meuse: passed to France in 1642; a Protestant stronghold (16th–17th centuries); scene of a French defeat (1870) during the Franco-Prussian War and of a battle (1940) in World War II, which began the German invasion of France. Pop: 20 548 (1999)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sedans
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of sedan

First recorded in 1625–35; of obscure origin

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Explanation

A sedan is a car that seats at least four people. You might dream of getting a sports car when you're 16, but it's more likely that your parents will loan you the keys to their sedan. In the 17th century, a sedan was "a covered chair on poles," a fancy way for one person to ride, carried by at least four people. Today's sedan seats four, and it's powered by gasoline or electricity. Since about 1912, the word sedan has been used most often for talking about an automobile. The word is rooted in the Latin sedere, "sit."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sedan Sedan sedans

Sales of the Accord sedan jumped as buyers who may have been looking for a small SUV considered a sedan instead, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

A man driving a white sedan fled south on PCH; officers spotted and detained him near the intersection of East 2nd Street and PCH, according to police.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

"Fuel is unavailable, there are huge queues everywhere," he told AFP from his motionless Toyota sedan after a one-and-a-half hour drive from the capital Ulaanbaatar.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

He also worked as a 'chairman' in nearby Bath, transporting sick and infirm people through the city's steep streets in wheelchairs and sedan chairs despite his own physical injuries.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

The new king stared openmouthed, but the sedan chair was already moving at a gallop.

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

Protests have also been reported in Marseille, the northern Lille area and Sedan in the north-eastern Ardennes.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Appeared in the February 14, 2026, print edition as 'America Fell Out of Love With the Sedan Detroit wants to bring it back'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026

“If we break it, we have no water. Period,” said Jack Warren, the mayor of Sedan, Kansas, a county seat about 100 miles southeast of Wichita and the largest customer of the water district.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2023

The vehicle appears to be a Kia Sedan with unknown tags.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2022

First Division reached the hills overlooking Sedan, then moved aside to allow the French Army the honor of capturing the city, the site of a French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

A plan to compete more directly against the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz with a lineup of crossover SUVs and sedans fell flat, and executives conceded the brand has failed to connect with younger drivers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Tesla said it delivered 478,237 Model Y and Model 3 cars between July and September, compared with 481,166 SUVs and sedans during the same time in 2025.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

Its lineup grew to include compact cars, coupes, full-size sedans, station wagons, trucks and SUVs like the Bronco.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

International sanctions block the regime’s purchase of high-end items, from Rolex watches to Mercedes-Maybach sedans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

The worst were the cheap ones, Volkswagens, low-end Japanese sedans.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

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