cab

cab — noun

1. a car with a driver whose job is to take you somewhere when you pay them, especi

1.nounB1
Definition

a car with a driver whose job is to take you somewhere when you pay them, especially over short distances in a city.

Example

Maya was running late, so she hailed a cab outside the hotel.

verb + cab: hail a cab

Marcus paid the cab driver and dragged his suitcase up the steps.

compound: cab driver

Common collocations
  • hail a cab
  • call a cab
  • take a cab
  • share a cab
  • cab driver
  • cab fare
  • by cab
Synonyms
  • taxi

    neutral term used worldwide; 'cab' feels more informal and is more frequent in American English

  • taxicab

    the full original word; rarely used in everyday speech

  • Uber

    a brand name often used loosely for any ride-hailing car

Grammar Patterns

take a cab

by cab

call a cab

Usage Note

More common in American English than British English, where 'taxi' is the everyday word. In London, 'black cab' specifically means the licensed black taxi.

Common Mistakes

I will take the cab.' (no specific cab in mind)
I will take a cab.
use 'a cab' when any cab will do; 'the cab' only when one has been mentioned or is visible.
We went there with cab.
We went there by cab.
the fixed phrase is 'by cab', not 'with cab'.

2. the small enclosed space at the front of a truck, train engine, bus, or large ma

2.nounB2
Definition

the small enclosed space at the front of a truck, train engine, bus, or large machine where the person driving sits and uses the controls.

Example

Carlos climbed into the cab of his truck and fastened his seat belt.

the cab of [a truck]

The cab of the locomotive was hot and noisy when the engine ran at full speed.

the cab of [a locomotive]

Common collocations
  • truck cab
  • lorry cab
  • crane cab
  • the cab of the engine
  • climb into the cab
  • inside the cab
Synonyms
  • driver's compartment

    more formal and explicit; common in technical writing

  • cabin

    broader; can mean an enclosed space on a plane or ship as well

  • cockpit

    the equivalent in an aircraft or racing car

Grammar Patterns

the cab of [a truck/lorry/train]

Usage Note

Subject is usually a vehicle big enough to have a separate driver area (trucks, lorries, trains, cranes, tractors). Distinguish from sense 1 ('taxi'): sense 2 is a part of a vehicle, never the whole vehicle.

Common Mistakes

The cab of the small car was tidy.
The inside of the small car was tidy.
sense 2 is only used for large vehicles with a separate driver area.

3. in former times, a small covered carriage pulled by one or two horses that peopl

3.nounC1
Definition

in former times, a small covered carriage pulled by one or two horses that people paid to ride in, like a taxi today.

Example

In Victorian London, a doctor would arrive at his patient's house in a cab pulled by a tired horse.

historical context

Sherlock Holmes often jumped into a cab to chase a suspect across the city.

literary / historical use

Common collocations
  • hansom cab
  • hail a cab
  • cab driver
  • cab horse
Synonyms
  • hansom

    a specific type of two-wheeled cab driven from behind

  • hackney

    a horse-drawn carriage available for hire; gave its name to modern taxis

  • carriage

    general term for any horse-drawn passenger vehicle

Usage Note

Now mainly found in historical fiction, museum descriptions, and writing about the 18th-19th centuries. In modern speech, sense 1 ('taxi') is what people mean by 'cab'.

cab — verb

Word family

  • cabbie
    nounC1
  • cabby
    nounC1
  • taxicab
    nounB2
  • cabriolet
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to a car you pay to ride in, but they differ in register and region. 'Taxi' is the neutral, international word and is the standard term in British English. 'Cab' is more informal and noticeably more common in American English; you 'hail a cab' on a New York street but 'get a taxi' in London. 'Taxicab' is the full historical form and now sounds slightly old-fashioned in conversation, though it still appears on official signs. 'Uber' began as a brand name but has become a generic verb and noun in everyday speech for any app-booked car ride. Compare: 'Let's grab a cab' (casual American), 'I'll take a taxi home' (neutral, worldwide), 'We Ubered to the concert' (very recent, app-based).

cab ↗taxi ↗taxicabUber

Common collocations

Nouns

  • cab driver
  • cab fare
  • cab rank
  • cab company
  • cab ride

Phrases

  • hail a cab
  • call a cab
  • take a cab
  • share a cab
  • jump in a cab
  • flag down a cab

Prepositions

  • by cab
  • in a cab
  • into a cab
  • out of a cab

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

'Cab' is a shortened form of 'cabriolet', a French word for a light, two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage popular in the early 1800s. 'Cabriolet' itself comes from the French 'cabrioler' meaning 'to leap like a goat', because the light carriage seemed to bounce as it moved. By the mid-19th century, English speakers had clipped the word to 'cab' for any small carriage you could hire. When motor taxis appeared around 1900, the short word transferred naturally to the new vehicles, and 'taxicab' (taxi + cab) became the formal name. The 'driver's compartment' meaning developed by analogy in the late 19th century, since locomotives and early trucks had a small enclosed seat for the driver that resembled a hansom cab.