cab

cab — noun

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

1.名詞B1
釋義

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

例句

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

同義詞
  • 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

文法句型

take a cab

by cab

call a cab

用法筆記

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

常見錯誤

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.名詞B2
釋義

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.

例句

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]

同義詞
  • 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

文法句型

the cab of [a truck/lorry/train]

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

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.名詞C1
釋義

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

例句

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

同義詞
  • 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

用法筆記

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