rent-a-car

American  

[rent-uh-kahr] / ˈrɛnt əˌkɑr /

noun

1. a company or service that rents cars, as by the day or week.

2. a car provided by such a company or service.

---

adjective

1. Also of or relating to such a company or service.

   rent-a-car rates.

Etymology

Origin of rent-a-car

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Early roles included a cannibal in a commercial for Hertz rent-a-car and an abominable snowman in the 1981 film “Caveman.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2023

“The overall rent-a-car industry still has more demand than supply,” Joe Ferraro, the president and chief executive officer at Avis Budget Group, the rental car company, said on a Feb. 15 earnings call.

From New York Times • Feb. 27, 2022

But shares in bankrupt rent-a-car giant Hertz, which should be moribund, soared from 56 cents apiece to more than $5 this month, before falling to less than $2.

From Washington Post • Jun. 25, 2020

I nose my rent-a-car into a side street and walk.

From Time • Jan. 10, 2016

By the time she stalked out of Dona Luz headquarters two hours later, having been badgered unmercifully and then vindicated at least partially by rent-a-car records in the capital, Abby was fuming.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols