truck

¹ American  

[truhk] / trʌk /

noun

1. any of various forms of vehicle for carrying goods and materials, usually consisting of a single self-propelled unit but also often composed of a trailer vehicle hauled by a tractor unit.

2. any of various wheeled frames used for transporting heavy objects.

3. Also called hand truck.  a barrowlike frame with low wheels, a ledge at the bottom, and handles at the top, used to move heavy luggage, packages, cartons, etc.

4. a low, rectangular frame on which heavy boxes, crates, trunks, etc., are moved; a dolly.

5. a tiered framework on casters.

6. a group of two or more pairs of wheels in one frame, for supporting one end of a railroad car, locomotive, etc.

7. Movies. a dolly on which a camera is mounted.

8. British. a freight car having no top.

9. a small wooden wheel, cylinder, or roller, as on certain old-style gun carriages.

10. Nautical. a circular or square piece of wood fixed on the head of a mast or the top of a flagstaff, usually containing small holes for signal halyards.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to transport by truck.

2. to put on a truck.

3. Movies. dolly.

verb (used without object)

1. to convey articles or goods on a truck.

2. to drive a truck.

3. Movies. dolly.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or for a truck or trucks.

   a truck drive; truck tires.

truck ² American  

[truhk] / trʌk /

noun

1. vegetables raised for the market.

2. miscellaneous articles of little worth; odds and ends.

3. Informal. trash or rubbish.

   That's a lot of truck.

4. Informal. dealings.

   I'll have no truck with him.

5. barter.

6. a bargain or deal.

7. the payment of wages in goods instead of money.

8. truck system.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to exchange; barter; trade.

verb (used without object)

1. to exchange commodities; barter.

2. to traffic; have dealings.

truck ³ American  

[truhk] / trʌk /

noun

1. a shuffling jitterbug step.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to dance with such steps.

2. Slang. to walk or stroll, especially in a jaunty manner.

   trucking down the avenue on a Sunday afternoon.

truck ¹ British  

/ trʌk /

noun

1. a vehicle for carrying freight on a railway; wagon

2. Also called (esp in Britain): lorry.  a large motor vehicle designed to carry heavy loads, esp one with a flat platform

3. a frame carrying two or more pairs of wheels and usually springs and brakes, attached under an end of a railway coach, etc

4. nautical

   1. a disc-shaped block fixed to the head of a mast having sheave holes for receiving signal halyards

   2. the head of a mast itself

5. any wheeled vehicle used to move goods

---

verb

1. to convey (goods) in a truck

2. (intr) to drive a truck

truck ² British  

/ trʌk /

noun

1. commercial goods

2. dealings (esp in the phrase have no truck with )

3. commercial exchange

4. archaic payment of wages in kind

5. miscellaneous articles

6. informal rubbish

7. vegetables grown for market

---

verb

1. archaic to exchange (goods); barter

2. (intr) to traffic or negotiate

truck Idioms  

1. see have no truck with.

---

Other Word Forms

• truckable adjective

Etymology

Origin of truck¹

First recorded in 1605–15; back formation from truckle “wheel”; truckle

Origin of truck²

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English truken, trukien “to exchange,” from Old French troquer, trochier “to exchange” and Medieval Latin trocāre “to barter”; further origin unknown

Origin of truck³

First recorded in 1935–40; special use of truck ¹

Example Sentences

The couple was traveling in a pickup truck with their three small children when, at one point, the actor exited the vehicle and started walking on the road.

From Los Angeles Times

The border closure in October left thousands of Lithuanian trucks trapped in Belarus.

From Barron's

The border closure in late October caused tensions between Vilnius and Minsk, and left around 2,000 Lithuanian trucks stranded in Belarus.

From Barron's

It is supposed to be the busiest time of year for the Roadies trucking company, but dozens of its trucks sit idle — unlikely casualties of a surprise scrutiny of laborers from India.

From Los Angeles Times

A major waste firm has warned that wrongly discarded vapes are still causing fires in its rubbish trucks and waste facilities, six months on since disposable vapes were banned.

From BBC

Related Words

• car
• crate
• freighter
• jeep
• lorry
• pickup
• rig
• van
• wagon