car

¹ American  

[kahr] / kɑr /

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.

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car ² American  

[kahr] / kɑr /

adjective

Chiefly Scot.

1. left-handed.

2. sinister.

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CAR ³ American  

1. computer-assisted retrieval.

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car. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. carat; carats.

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car ¹ British  

/ 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

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CAR ² British  

abbreviation

1. compound annual return

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Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

• carless adjective

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

First quarter hybrid electric vehicle sales were 51,073, down 20% from a year ago, accounting for 9% of total car sales, down 1 percentage point from a year ago.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

Woods was involved in a car accident in Jupiter, Fla. on Friday.

From Salon • Apr. 2, 2026

U.S. home builders and car manufacturers are taking a hit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

The UK's largest car manufacturer said it sold 95,300 vehicles to dealers in the three months to 31 March, up 61.1% compared with the previous quarter.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

I grab the Emily Dickinson collection from Dad right before I leave and flip through it in the car.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Related Words

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