You searched for: “car”
car (s) (noun), cars
1. An automobile or a four-wheeled motor vehicle; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine.
2. A vehicle running on rails; such as, a streetcar or a railroad car.
3. The part of an elevator, balloon, modern airship, etc., that carries the passengers, freight, etc.
4. Especially in Britain, any wheeled vehicle; such as, a farm cart or wagon (which is closer to its Latin origin).
5. A chariot, as of war or triumph.
6. From earlier times: a cart or a carriage.
7. Etymology: from Latin carrum, carrus; plural, carra; originally "a two-wheeled Celtic war chariot".
This entry is located in the following unit: carr-, carri-; car-, cari- (page 1)
Automobile or Related Car Terms
(scientific terms about the use of vehicles including cars, trucks, or any automobiles including their technology as related to transportation)
Word Entries at Get Words containing the term: “car”
Automobile or Car Terms

Lists of automobile words that are based on technical applications related to cars.

This entry is located in the following unit: Index or Menu of Various Topics (page 1)
fuel-cell car (s) (noun), fuel-cell cars (pl)
A fuel cell is a type of battery which converts the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process produces electricity: Fuel-cell cars are also known as fuel cell vehicles (FCEVS) and use fuel cells that generate electricity, which powers the vehicle's electric motor.

Hydrogen is pumped into the cell from an on board tank, while the oxygen is taken from the air outside. Together they form steam, which is emitted through the car's exhaust.

Some car makers are putting a lot of time and effort into developing hybrid cars where the electric motors are powered by fuel cells.

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, but it is highly flammable, that is it bursts into flames easily and as the lightest gas, it just floats away. Even so, it can be extracted from water, fossil fuels, and other substances.

The problem is to compress, or squeeze, hydrogen into a tank small enough to fit in a car. The tank can be topped off with hydrogen at refueling stations, but there are very few of such places available at this time.

The advantages and disadvantages of fuel-cell cars

    In theory, electric-fuel-cell cars could be the answer for clean cars of the future:

  • Fuel cells are reliable and make little noise since they have no moving parts.
  • Water is the only thing emitted through the exhaust.

    • There are a number of challenges still to be overcome:

  • Increasing the amount of electricity produced so the car has more power.
  • Compressing and safely storing enough hydrogen into a small tank for hundreds of miles of driving.
  • Making affordable cars which are now very expensive in that a fuel-cell system costs ten times more to make than a conventional engine.
—Compiled from excerpts found at
Car Science, An Under-the-Hood, Behind-the-Dash Look at How Cars Work
by Richard Hammond; DK Publishing; New York; 2008; pages 84-85.
This entry is located in the following unit: Automobile or Related Car Terms (page 3)
hybrid car (s) (noun), hybrid cars (pl)
An automobile that employs at least two distinct kinds of power: Hybrid cars have two sources of power:
  1. An ordinary gasoline engine, powered by a fuel tank.
  2. An electric motor, powered by batteries.

The driver can switch between gasoline and electric power to suit different driving conditions.

This entry is located in the following unit: Automobile or Related Car Terms (page 4)
squadrol: squad car + patrol wagon
1. A police vehicle that serves the purposes of both a patrol wagon and squad car.
2. A blend of squad car and patrol wagon.
  • Squad car: A police car linked by radio with police headquarters.
  • Patrol wagon: An enclosed police vehicle for transporting prisoners.
This entry is located in the following unit: Blends of Words: Portmanteaus or Portmanteaux + (page 2)