cab

/kæb/

/kæb/

Other forms: cabs; cabbing; cabbed

A cab is a taxi, a car whose driver you pay to take you where you need to go. It can feel like a competitive sport to hail a cab in New York City.

Your cab driver may talk incessantly while she drives you to the airport, or you might ride in a cab that's silent except for the sound of its horn honking at other drivers. You can also call the front part of a truck, where the driver sits, the cab. In the 1820s, the word meant "horse-drawn carriage," short for the French cabriolet, "leap or caper." The Latin root is capreolus, "wild goat."

Definitions of cab

1. noun

   a car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money
   synonyms: hack, taxi, taxicab

   types:

   gypsy cab

   a taxicab that cruises for customers although it is licensed only to respond to calls

   minicab

   a minicar used as a taxicab

   type of:

   auto, automobile, car, machine, motorcar

   a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
2. noun

   small two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage; with two seats and a folding hood
   synonyms: cabriolet

   type of:

   carriage, equipage, rig

   a vehicle with wheels drawn by one or more horses
3. verb

   ride in a taxicab
   synonyms: taxi

   type of:

   ride

   be carried or travel on or in a vehicle
4. noun

   a compartment at the front of a motor vehicle or locomotive where driver sits
   type of:

   compartment

   a partitioned section, chamber, or separate room within a larger enclosed area