ambulance

[ am-byuh-luhns ]

noun

1. a specially equipped motor vehicle, airplane, ship, etc., for carrying sick or injured people, usually to a hospital.
2. (formerly) a field hospital.

ambulance

/ ˈæmbjʊləns /

noun

1. a motor vehicle designed to carry sick or injured people

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambulance¹

1800–10; < French, equivalent to ( hôpital ) ambul ( ant ) walking (hospital) + -ance -ance. See ambulant

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambulance¹

C19: from French, based on ( hôpital ) ambulant mobile or field (hospital), from Latin ambulāre to walk

Example Sentences

The wife of a motorcyclist who could have been saved after a crash, had it not been for an ambulance delay, has spoken of her pain at being a widow aged 28.

From BBC

MSF says that on 11 November one of its ambulances carrying three young men with gunshot wounds was stopped by Haitian law enforcement officers.

From BBC

“I was in a lot of pain and I remember hearing the air ambulance landing and I knew it was serious, but thank god they did, they saved my life,” he said.

From BBC

"About a dozen people were hit, some of them seriously, but luckily the ambulance came very quickly."

From BBC

Prosecutors say doctors, nurses and ambulance drivers are responsible for the deaths at least 10 children.

From BBC