ambulance

noun

am·​bu·​lance ˈam-byə-lən(t)s 

-bə-,

 also  -ˌlan(t)s

: a vehicle equipped for transporting the injured or sick

Examples of ambulance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In another incident in April last year, an officer tended to a severe cut suffered by a man who’d been in a fight and rode with him to the hospital in an ambulance while continuing to apply pressure to a wound while medical responders performed other tasks. —Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2024

Lo and behold, the medics cut her precious white coat off her body in the ambulance, and that’s all Sophie can think about. —Lincee Ray, EW.com, 12 Apr. 2024

Canfield said a portion of the footage that was submitted as evidence Monday is blocked by the prison transport van, adding that all the footage obtained from Saint Alphonsus doesn’t have sound but a video obtained from a private ambulance does. —Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2024

On October 2, 2020, 13 Australian women were transiting through Doha airport in Qatar on their way to Sydney when they were taken off their Qatar Airways plane by members of the Qatari security services and subjected to physical examinations in ambulances on the airport tarmac. —Jack Guy, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024

That figure is exasperated by an ongoing paramedic shortage in the county that at times forces firefighters to spend precious time waiting for ambulances when responding to a call, city staff said. —Luis Melecio-Zambrano, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024

Ground ambulances carried them between the hospitals and airports. —CBS News, 29 Mar. 2024

Jones rushed to the aid of Justin’s friend and took him to an ambulance, according to the lawsuit. —Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2024

Medics from the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District arrived, provided medical aid at the scene and took her to the ambulance. —Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 29 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "mobile medical facility following troops in the field, corps of surgeons and assistants caring for wounded soldiers in the field," borrowed from French, from ambulant "mobile, itinerant" (borrowed from Latin ambulant-, ambulans, present participle of ambulāre "to go on foot, travel") + -ance -ance — more at amble entry 1

Note: As a name for a vehicle, in part short for ambulance wag(g)on and other collocations, probably after French wagon-ambulance, voiture d'ambulance, etc.

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing ambulance

• ambulance chaser
• by ambulance

Kids Definition

ambulance

noun

am·​bu·​lance ˈam-byə-lən(t)s 

: a vehicle that is equipped for transporting the injured or the sick

Etymology

from French ambulance "field hospital," from (hôpital) ambulant, literally "traveling hospital," derived from Latin ambulare "to walk" — related to amble

Word Origin

When the term ambulance first came into use, it did not refer to a vehicle. To meet the urgent needs of the wounded during war, the French about 200 years ago set up temporary movable hospitals close to the battlefields. They called such a hospital hôpital ambulant, meaning literally "walking hospital." The French adjective ambulant can be traced back to the Latin verb ambulare, meaning "to walk." In time the French dropped the word hôpital from the phrase and changed the adjective to the noun ambulance. This word was also later applied to the wagon used for transporting the wounded to the field hospital. Before long, the word ambulance came to be used for civilian temporary hospitals set up during emergencies and also for the vehicles used to take the sick and injured to the hospital. English borrowed the word from French to refer to such vehicles.

Medical Definition

ambulance

noun

am·​bu·​lance

ˈam-b(y)ə-lən(t)s also -ˌlan(t)s

: a vehicle equipped for transporting the injured or sick