taxi
noun
a taxicab.
taxi
1 American
[tak-see]
/ ˈtæk si /
noun
-
taxis,
plural
-
taxies
plural
verb (used without object)
-
taxies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taxied,
past participle, past
-
taxiing,
present participle
-
taxying
present participle
-
to ride or travel in a taxicab.
-
(of an airplane) to move over the surface of the ground or water under its own power.
verb (used with object)
-
taxies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taxied,
past participle, past
-
taxiing,
present participle
-
taxying
present participle
taxi-
2
American
taxi
British
/ ˈtæksɪ /
noun
verb
-
to cause (an aircraft) to move along the ground under its own power, esp before takeoff and after landing, or (of an aircraft) to move along the ground in this way
-
(intr) to travel in a taxi
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
taxisimple
-
taxiessimple
-
have taxiedperfect
-
has taxiedperfect
-
am taxiingprogressive
-
am taxyingprogressive
-
are taxiingprogressive
-
are taxyingprogressive
-
is taxiingprogressive
-
is taxyingprogressive
-
have been taxiingperfect progressive
-
have been taxyingperfect progressive
-
has been taxiingperfect progressive
-
has been taxyingperfect progressive
Past
-
taxiedsimple
-
had taxiedperfect
-
was taxiingprogressive
-
was taxyingprogressive
-
were taxiingprogressive
-
were taxyingprogressive
-
had been taxiingperfect progressive
-
had been taxyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of taxi
1905–10, short for taxicab
Explanation
Running late? Call a taxi. A taxi is a car you hire to drive you somewhere. In some big cities, all you have to do is raise your hand and yell "taxi!" and a taxi will pull up next to you. You can also refer to a taxi as a cab or a taxicab. Most taxis are cars, although boats for hire are sometimes also called taxis. As a verb, taxi describes what airplanes do when they move very slowly on a runway. Officially, taxi is short for taximeter cab, as they were originally named at the turn of the 20th century. Today the taximeter, which records distance and fare, is usually just called a meter.
Vocabulary lists containing taxi
Flying High: Aviation Words
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Greetings, World Traveler! — List 1
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Unit 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Often dubbed "Russia's Google", the company runs the country's most popular search engine, as well as a food-ordering and taxi app used by tens of millions of people.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Smelling a story, Cohn took a taxi out to Brooklyn’s 2001 Odyssey club.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
Often dubbed "Russia's Google", the firm runs the country's most popular search engine, as well as a food-ordering and taxi application used by tens of millions of people across the Russian-speaking world.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The jury in Tampa, Fla., found that air taxi startup Joby Aviation owes roughly $116.9 million to aviation supplier Aerosonic after it allegedly breached a confidentiality agreement and mishandled trade secrets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
We went into the next bar and I sent a waiter for a taxi.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
That's due in part to the city council's December 4 passage of a legislative framework that essentially allows Uber and other taxi- and sedan-hailing services to operate.
From Inc ● Jan. 14, 2013
"The population of Paris has revolted and is hurrying to ask mercy from us!" thought the reconnoitring simpletons in Taubes, when they noted beneath them the incredible processions of taxi- cabs going north.
From Over There War Scenes on the Western Front by Arnold Bennett
It escaped because tens of thousands of soldiers in thousands of taxi- cabs advanced more rapidly than any soldiers could be expected to advance.
From Over There War Scenes on the Western Front by Arnold Bennett
A few of the taxi- cabs have come back; but all the auto-buses without exception are away behind the front.
From Over There War Scenes on the Western Front by Arnold Bennett
Drivers and passengers of private cars, buses and taxies entering or exiting Changchun must present negative tests for the coronavirus taken within the past 48 hours.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2022
Did a similar trip a few years ago but took local jitney's, buses, trains, taxies, even a small plane.
From New York Times ● Dec. 13, 2016
Shifting some of the load to third party services such as Uber, Lyft or taxies would help reduce some of the load placed on already-burdened emergency service providers.
From The Verge ● Jul. 17, 2016
In Lagos, there were motorcycle taxies that could zip through the traffic jams.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 16, 2016
All the taxies were hired, all going downtown.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
On the north side of the peninsula, Paradise Bay is home to a cluster of high-end resorts that can be reached by sleek, private water taxis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Joby, a major player in the race to bring electric air taxis to market, denied the accusations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Lucinda Harrison, 24, from London says she often books taxis that turn out to be electric vehicles, and has to endure the trip feeling nauseous, sweaty and clammy.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Unlike taxis, Uber and Lyft, Waymo can’t pick you up at the terminals, only at the Rental Car Center and the nearby Grand Hyatt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
As the great crowd dispersed, marchers and visitors scrambled to find taxis, buses, cars, trains and planes so they could get out of town before nightfall.
From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman
Planes have to be located, then towed or taxied.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
First, as the team charter taxied to the runway, a fuel pump alert came on in the cockpit, forcing the aircraft to return to its gate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025
The airline confirmed that the plane had landed safely and had "taxied to stand as normal".
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2024
The Boeing 777 landed safely and taxied to the gate under its own power, American said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 14, 2024
The little ship taxied away and turned, and down the field it roared and staggered into the air, and Olive was looking straight ahead and probably her eyes were closed.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Delta Air Lines Flight 7 was taxiing for departure when its left wing clipped Air Canada Flight 785’s horizontal stabilizer at around 10:30 a.m.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
As their planes were taxiing, Trump announced that he would nominate Jay Clayton, a U.S. attorney and former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, to the position permanently.
From Slate ● Jun. 13, 2026
The African grey female named Hugo was spotted taxiing for flight by a firefighter who was carrying out a routine safety inspection.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026
Earlier Tuesday, an Ethiopian Airlines cargo aircraft went off the runway while taxiing coming to a standstill in the grass, the airport said in a statement, adding the incident was under investigation.
From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026
But a group of Yak fighters was taxiing along the runway.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
We were getting near the aerodrome, on which, to my great relief, a machine was "taxying" towards the hangars.
From 'Green Balls' The Adventures of a Night-Bomber by Paul Bewsher
Bob had been taxying about slowly since landing, in order to keep the engine going and the propeller slowly revolving.
From The Radio Boys with the Revenue Guards by Gerald Breckenridge
He had to jump out of the way as the "taxying" airplane bore down on him.
From Uncle Sam's Boys with Pershing's Troops Dick Prescott at Grips with the Boche by H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock
And taxying to Teano's, I told him in a few words what a mess I'd made of things.
From Lord John in New York by A. M. (Alice Muriel) Williamson
Out through the open doorway Reade sent the airplane "taxying" or running along the ground.
From Uncle Sam's Boys with Pershing's Troops Dick Prescott at Grips with the Boche by H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
