van

van — noun

1. A road vehicle with an enclosed metal body, designed to move furniture, packages

1.nounB1
Definition

A road vehicle with an enclosed metal body, designed to move furniture, packages, or equipment — larger than a car but smaller than a truck, and usually without windows on its rear sides.

Example

The delivery driver parked the van outside the bakery and unloaded boxes of bread.

park + van + outside [location]

A white van with the company logo pulled into the loading bay at noon.

van as subject with destination phrase

Common collocations
  • delivery van
  • cargo van
  • work van
  • van driver
  • load a van
  • park a van
  • van rental
Synonyms
  • truck

    American term; usually larger and may have an open cargo bed

  • lorry

    British term for a large goods vehicle; generally bigger than a van

  • delivery vehicle

    broader term; includes vans, trucks, and other goods-carrying vehicles

Grammar Patterns

a/the van

[adjective] van

by van

Usage Note

In British English, a van is typically smaller than a lorry; in American English, the line between van and truck can be less clear, but a van is always fully enclosed.

Common Mistakes

I brought the boxes in my passenger van.
I brought the boxes in my cargo van.
A passenger van has seats for people; a cargo van has an empty rear area for goods.

2. A road vehicle with windows on all sides, built to carry a group of people — typ

2.nounB1
Definition

A road vehicle with windows on all sides, built to carry a group of people — typically seating eight to twelve passengers, larger than a car but smaller than a bus.

Example

The tour company uses a twelve-seat van to take visitors around the national park.

[number]-seat van for group transport

Ayesha's family rented a van for their road trip along the coast last summer.

rent a van for [trip/purpose]

Common collocations
  • passenger van
  • shuttle van
  • tour van
  • rent a van
  • van pool
  • twelve-seat van
Synonyms
  • minibus

    especially common in British English; usually seats more than 12 people

  • minivan

    smaller, typically for a single family; common in North America

  • people carrier

    British term; usually a car-like vehicle with three rows of seats

Grammar Patterns

a/the van

[number]-seat van

by van

Usage Note

In everyday speech, 'van' can refer to either a cargo or passenger vehicle. When the distinction matters, use 'passenger van' for people or 'cargo van' / 'delivery van' for goods.

Common Mistakes

We hired a twelve-seat truck for the family trip.
We hired a twelve-seat van for the family trip.
A truck carries goods, not passengers; a passenger van is designed for people.

3. The foremost position within a field of activity — held by a person, institution

3.nounC1
Definition

The foremost position within a field of activity — held by a person, institution, or movement that is pushing ahead with new ideas, research, or methods. Short for 'vanguard'.

Example

The RIKEN Center was in the van of natural language processing research, releasing the first large-scale Japanese language model in 2021.

in the van of [field] — with specific milestone and year

Renata's gallery in São Paulo led the van in digital video art, hosting Latin America's first AI film festival.

in the van of [art field] — with named specific event

Common collocations
  • in the van of
  • lead the van
Synonyms
  • vanguard

    the full form of this sense; more common in modern English

  • forefront

    more common in everyday use; 'at the forefront of' means the same

  • front line

    more concrete image; used for active, pioneering work

Antonyms
  • rear

    the back or least advanced position

Grammar Patterns

in the van of [field]

lead the van in [activity]

Usage Note

This sense is always used in the fixed phrases 'in the van of' or 'lead the van'. It cannot stand alone as a simple noun (e.g. 'the van of science' is acceptable, but 'the van is innovative' is not). Most commonly found in formal or academic writing.

Common Mistakes

The company is in van of green technology.' (missing 'the').
The company is in the van of green technology.
The phrase requires 'in the van of' with a definite article before 'van'.

4. On a train, a roofed section designed to carry luggage, parcels, mail, or freigh

4.nounB2
Definition

On a train, a roofed section designed to carry luggage, parcels, mail, or freight — usually placed at the front or rear of a passenger train in the UK system.

Example

The guard locked the luggage van before the train pulled out of Paddington Station.

luggage van — British railway compound noun

The postal workers wheeled trolleys of letters into the railway van before the Edinburgh train departed.

compound noun: railway van — loading mail before departure

Common collocations
  • luggage van
  • guard's van
  • mail van
  • railway van
  • goods van
Synonyms
  • baggage car

    American English equivalent

  • luggage van

    synonymous; slightly more specific to passenger luggage

  • guard's van

    a van at the rear where the guard (conductor) works

Grammar Patterns

the [purpose] van

[possessive] van

Usage Note

This sense is primarily British. In American English, the equivalent is called a 'baggage car' or 'freight car'. The term 'van' for a railway carriage is becoming less common as modern trains use dedicated luggage compartments built into passenger cars.

Idioms

in the van

idiom

Being at the front or in a leading position in a group or activity.

Sara's research team was in the van of medical breakthroughs.

Are we in the van of this new technology trend?

van — verb

Word family

  • vanguard
    nounC1
  • caravan
    nounB2
  • minivan
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Van, truck, lorry, and pickup all refer to road vehicles used for carrying goods, but they differ in size, structure, and regional usage. A van is fully enclosed, medium-sized, and commonly used for local deliveries or small moves. A truck (American English) is larger, often with a separate cab and an open or detachable cargo bed — think of a big rig or a dump truck. A lorry is the British equivalent of a truck, covering everything from medium rigid vehicles to large articulated ones. A pickup (or pickup truck) has an open bed at the back with low sides, designed for carrying light loads or equipment. In everyday use: 'Samir loaded the boxes into his van for the short trip across town' (enclosed, medium load) versus 'The construction crew hauled gravel in a pickup' (open bed, outdoor materials) versus 'A lorry delivered steel beams to the factory' (British, heavy industrial load).

van ↗truck ↗lorry ↗pickup ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • van driver
  • van rental
  • van company
  • van door
  • van keys
  • van owner

Phrases

  • drive a van
  • park a van
  • load a van
  • unload a van
  • rent a van
  • hire a van

Prepositions

  • in a van
  • by van
  • into a van
  • out of a van
  • from a van

Etymology

PersianItalianFrenchEnglish

The word 'van' is a shortened form of 'caravan', which originally referred to a covered horse-drawn wagon used by travelling merchants. 'Caravan' entered English in the late 1500s from Italian 'carovana' and French 'caravane', ultimately tracing back to Persian 'kārwān', meaning a company of travellers crossing the desert together. By the 1800s, 'van' was used for any covered vehicle for carrying goods. The 'leading position' sense (as in 'in the van of progress') is a separate shortening of 'vanguard', which came from Old French 'avant-garde' — literally 'before-guard', the troops at the front of an army.