streetcar

American  

[street-kahr] / ˈstritˌkɑr /

noun

1. a public vehicle running regularly along certain streets, usually on rails, as a trolley car or trolley bus.

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streetcar British  

/ ˈstriːtˌkɑː /

noun

1. Also called: trolley car.   tram.   tramcar.  an electrically driven public transport vehicle that runs on rails let into the surface of the road, power usually being taken from an overhead wire

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Etymology

Origin of streetcar

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; street + car ¹

Example Sentences

Scranton’s nickname, “Electric City,” stems from its being one of the first places in the U.S. to have electric streetcars.

From MarketWatch

The commuters in “Le Métro” hark back to his early streetcar scenes but now there’s an air of mystery to the straphangers, with the central figure’s face obscured and bisected by a subway pole.

From The Wall Street Journal

Art students paint the trams and local bands perform in the streetcars.

From BBC

An-My, you chose Robert Frank’s picture of a streetcar in New Orleans, taken that year.

From New York Times

He still lives in Seattle, consults for transportation clients, and joined the board of a company that locates underground utility obstacles, like those which delayed the new Tacoma Link Hilltop Extension streetcar.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• trolley