What does "car" mean?

1. (road vehicle) a vehicle with four wheels and an engine that carries a small number of people. 2. (train carriage) one of the separate sections of a train. 3. (elevator cabin) the part of an elevator that people stand in to go up or down. 4. (humorous misspelling of cat) a funny way to write the word 'cat' on the internet. 5. (programming term) the first part of a list in the Lisp programming language.

How do you use "car"?

In British English, 'carriage' or 'coach' is more common for passengers. Usually paired with 'cdr', which refers to the rest of the list.

Is it correct to say "I go to work with my car."?

No — say "I go to work by car.". When talking about a method of transport in general, use 'by' without 'my' or 'the'.

car

US //ˈkɑɹ// UK //kˈɑː// car

1 road vehicle (n.)
A1 Beginner

a vehicle with four wheels and an engine that carries a small number of people.

a road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine or electric motor, designed for personal transport.

Example

She parked her car in the garage before it started to rain.

Example

The transition to electric cars has accelerated as urban infrastructure adapts to include more accessible charging stations.
Pitfall

I go to work with my car.

I go to work by car.

When talking about a method of transport in general, use 'by' without 'my' or 'the'.
2 train carriage (n.)
B1 Intermediate American English

one of the separate sections of a train.

an individual unit of a railway train, especially one designed for passengers or freight.

Example

We walked through the train to find a seat in the dining car.

Example

The freight train consisted of over fifty cars, mostly carrying coal and timber across the Midwest.

Usage

In British English, 'carriage' or 'coach' is more common for passengers.

Teacher's tip

Note that in North America, 'car' is the standard term for both passenger and freight units.

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3 elevator cabin (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Technical

the part of an elevator that people stand in to go up or down.

the load-carrying compartment of a lift or elevator system.

Example

The elevator car was small and felt crowded with four people.

Example

Safety sensors ensure that the elevator car is perfectly level with the floor before the doors are permitted to open.
- cabin
- cage
4 humorous misspelling of cat (n.)
C1 Advanced Humorous Slang Informal Internet

a funny way to write the word 'cat' on the internet.

a deliberate, humorous misspelling of 'cat' used in internet subcultures.

Example

Look at this video of a silly car sleeping on the sofa.

Example

The comment section was filled with people calling the stray kitten a 'distinguished car' because of its white paws.

Teacher's tip

This is a very modern internet meme; learners should only use it in extremely casual, online contexts.
- cat
5 programming term (n.)
C2 Proficiency Technical Computing

the first part of a list in the Lisp programming language.

the first element of a cons cell or a list in the Lisp family of programming languages.

Example

The car of the list (1 2 3) is 1.

Example

In functional programming, the car operation returns the first pointer of the pair, effectively retrieving the head of the linked list.

Usage

Usually paired with 'cdr', which refers to the rest of the list.

Teacher's tip

This is highly specialized jargon for computer scientists and programmers.
- head
- first
- cdr

Idioms3 entries