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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of streetcar

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

Example Sentences

When the next streetcar rolls in, the upper deck fills with a gaggle of schoolgirls, squabbling over who gets the window seat closest to the sea breeze.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

Engineering student Mahmoud Bassam, 24, has visited Alexandria just to ride the streetcar "since our tram in Cairo was removed", he told AFP.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

With the advent of the electric streetcar, many trolley companies built parks as destinations for their new modes of transport.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

So is the streetcar, and many of the other vehicles, as well as most of the buildings, signs, facades, lights and pedestrians.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2024

Barry and Clyde had jumped on a streetcar and hightailed it to Pier 39, where they could get lost in the crowds.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Related Words

• trolley