car

¹

[kahr]

noun

1. an automobile.

2. a vehicle running on rails, as a streetcar or railroad car.

3. the part of an elevator, balloon, modern airship, etc., that carries the passengers, freight, etc.

4. British Dialect.,  any wheeled vehicle, as a farm cart or wagon.

5. Literary.,  a chariot, as of war or triumph.

6. Archaic.,  cart; carriage.

car

²

[kahr]

adjective

Chiefly Scot.

1. left-handed.

2. sinister.

CAR

³

1. computer-assisted retrieval.

car.

⁴

abbreviation

1. carat; carats.

car

¹

/ kɑː /

noun

1. 1. Also called: motorcar.  automobile. a self-propelled road vehicle designed to carry passengers, esp one with four wheels that is powered by an internal-combustion engine

   2. ( as modifier )

      car coat

2. a conveyance for passengers, freight, etc, such as a cable car or the carrier of an airship or balloon

3. a railway vehicle for passengers only, such as a sleeping car or buffet car

4. a railway carriage or van

5. the enclosed platform of a lift

6. a poetic word for chariot

CAR

²

abbreviation

1. compound annual return

Other Word Forms

• carless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of car¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English carre, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin carra (feminine singular), from Latin, neuter plural of carrum, variant of carrus “baggage cart, freight wagon,” from Gaulish; akin to Old Irish carr “wheeled vehicle”

Origin of car²

First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English ( Scots ), from Scots Gaelic ceàrr “false, left, wrong”

Origin of car³

First recorded in 1980–85

Word History and Origins

Origin of car¹

C14: from Anglo-French carre, ultimately related to Latin carra, carrum two-wheeled wagon, probably of Celtic origin; compare Old Irish carr

Example Sentences

“Our client is a veteran who was injured in a car crash due to the alleged negligence of another driver,” Lee’s attorneys, John Morgan and Sydney Pierce of Morgan & Morgan law firm, said in a statement to The Times.

From Los Angeles Times

She told the Los Angeles Times they had briefly been homeless, and she sometimes did her “homework on the dashboard of a car.”

From Salon

Norris comes into the weekend with a 34-point deficit in the championship to team-mate Oscar Piastri, whose car was driven in this first session by McLaren protege Alex Dunne.

From BBC

"If you see someone on the M40 looking particularly dotty," she told a surprised reporter, "it's me trying to rap in the car going home."

From BBC

Mary eventually remarried toward the end of the series, to race car driver Henry Talbot, but “The Grand Finale” sees the couple divorced and Mary on the outs from society.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• auto 
• automobile 
• bus 
• convertible 
• jeep 
• limousine 
• machine 
• motor 
• pickup 
• ride 
• station wagon 
• truck 
• van 
• wagon 

When To Use

What else does car mean?

To most of us on the outside, a car is a vehicle with a motor and four wheels. But in prison slang, your car is your crew, especially when it comes to drugs, protection, and money-making.