streetcar C2+ Topic:Transportation US /ˈstritˌkɑr/ UK /ˈstriːtˌkɑː/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a passenger vehicle running on rails along city streets; a tram They rode the streetcar downtown to catch the matinee. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a passenger vehicle running... tramtrolleytramcartrolleycar Word family Related forms streetcar Etymology AI details A compound of street + car, originally a horse-drawn or electric passenger car running on rails laid in city streets; coined in 19th-century American English. strǣt Old English strata Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Transportation Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # streetcar **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈstritˌkɑr/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈstriːtˌkɑː/ ## Meanings 1. a passenger vehicle running on rails along city streets; a tram ## Examples - They rode the streetcar downtown to catch the matinee. ## Synonyms - tram - trolley - tramcar - trolleycar ## Related Forms - street - car ## Roots and Affixes - Root: strǣt - Root: strata ## Etymology A compound of street + car, originally a horse-drawn or electric passenger car running on rails laid in city streets; coined in 19th-century American English. ## AI Etymology Streetcar is a compound of street + car, originally a horse-drawn or electric passenger car running on rails laid in city streets; coined in 19th-century American English. The compound structure is semantically important: one element narrows the setting, direction, or quality, and the other supplies the object, action, or base idea. As a noun, it denotes "a passenger vehicle running on rails along city streets; a tram", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Relevant historical forms include Old English strǣt and Latin strata. Related words include street, car. ## Topics - Transportation - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown