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noun B1 Intermediate Common

ambulance

AM-byuh-luhns

Ambulance (noun) means a vehicle equipped to carry sick or injured people to a hospital, usually with emergency medical staff aboard. Example: “The ambulance arrived within minutes and rushed him to the emergency room.”

noun
1
A vehicle equipped to carry sick or injured people to a hospital, usually with emergency medical staff aboard.
"The ambulance arrived within minutes and rushed him to the emergency room."
"Someone called an ambulance as soon as she collapsed."

How to Use Ambulance

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishThe emergency vehicle used to rush sick or injured people to hospital.

Common pairings
call an ambulance ambulance crew ambulance siren

Word Forms

ambulanced past tense, ambulances plural, ambulances singular

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Test yourself on “ambulance” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage

Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

The _____ arrived within minutes and rushed him to the emergency room.

Etymology

Borrowed from French ambulance, shortened from hopital ambulant ("mobile hospital"), from Latin ambulare, "to walk about".

Origin: Latin

Rhymes for ambulance

See all rhymes for ambulance →

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “ambulance” mean?

The word “ambulance” means a vehicle equipped to carry sick or injured people to a hospital, usually with emergency medical staff aboard. In plain terms, the emergency vehicle used to rush sick or injured people to hospital.

How do you pronounce “ambulance”?

“Ambulance” is pronounced AM-byuh-luhns (/ˈæm.bjə.ləns/ in IPA).

How do you use “ambulance” in a sentence?

Here is “ambulance” used in a sentence: “The ambulance arrived within minutes and rushed him to the emergency room.”

What part of speech is “ambulance”?

“Ambulance” is a noun.

Where does the word “ambulance” come from?

The word “ambulance” comes from Latin. Borrowed from French ambulance, shortened from hopital ambulant ("mobile hospital"), from Latin ambulare, "to walk about".

Is “ambulance” a common word?

“Ambulance” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

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