car

UK: /ˈkɑː^r/ US: /kɑr/ ,(kär)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

car¹ /kɑr/   n. 

1. Automotive an automobile:
   [countable] We needed to buy a new car.
   [uncountable* by + ~]
   She has to get to work by car.
2. Transport a vehicle running on rails or tracks:
   [countable] The train had eight cars, including the dining car.
3. Transport [countable] the part of an elevator, etc., that carries the passengers, etc.

car.,  an abbreviation of:

1. carat.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

car¹  (kär), n. 

1. Automotive an automobile.
2. Transport 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 Terms any wheeled vehicle, as a farm cart or wagon.
5. [Literary.] a chariot, as of war or triumph.
6. [Archaic.] cart;
   carriage.

• Celtic; compare Old Irish carr wheeled vehicle
• Late Latin carra (feminine singular), Latin carra, neuter plural of carrum, variant of carrus
• Anglo-French
• Middle English carre 1350–1400

car′less, adj. 

car²  (kär), adj. [Chiefly Scot.]

1. Scottish Terms left-handed.
2. Scottish Terms sinister.

• Scots Gaelic cearr
• Middle English (Scots) 1375–1425

CAR, 

1. Computing computer-assisted retrieval.

• 1980–85

car., 

1. Jewelry carat;
   carats.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

car / kɑː/ noun

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
3. a conveyance for passengers, freight, etc, such as a cable car or the carrier of an airship or balloon
4. a railway vehicle for passengers only, such as a sleeping car or buffet car
5. a railway carriage or van
6. the enclosed platform of a lift
7. a poetic word for chariot

Etymology: 14th Century: from Anglo-French carre, ultimately related to Latin carra, carrum two-wheeled wagon, probably of Celtic origin; compare Old Irish carr

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

CAR abbreviation

1. compound annual return