truck

1 of 4

noun (1)

1
: a wheeled vehicle for moving heavy articles: such as
a
: a strong horse-drawn or automotive vehicle (such as a pickup) for hauling
b
: an automotive vehicle with a short chassis equipped with a swivel for attaching a trailer and used especially for the highway hauling of freight
also : a truck with attached trailer
c
: a small barrow consisting of a rectangular frame having at one end a pair of handles and at the other end a pair of small heavy wheels and a projecting edge to slide under a load

called also hand truck

d
: a small heavy rectangular frame supported on four wheels for moving heavy objects
e
: a small flat-topped car pushed or pulled by hand
f
: a shelved stand mounted on casters
2
a
British : an open railroad freight car
b
: a swiveling carriage consisting of a frame with one or more pairs of wheels and springs to carry and guide one end (as of a railroad car) in turning sharp curves
3
: a small wheel
specifically : a small strong wheel for a gun carriage
4
: a small wooden cap at the top of a flagstaff or masthead usually having holes for reeving flag or signal halyards
truckful noun

truck

2 of 4

verb (1)

trucked; trucking; trucks

transitive verb

: to load or transport on a truck

intransitive verb

1
: to roll along especially in an easy untroubled way
2
: to transport goods by truck
3
: to be employed in driving a truck

truck

3 of 4

verb (2)

trucked; trucking; trucks

transitive verb

1
: to give in exchange : swap
2
: to barter or dispose of by barter

intransitive verb

1
: to exchange commodities : barter
2
: to negotiate or traffic especially in an underhanded way : have dealings

truck

4 of 4

noun (2)

1
: barter
2
: commodities appropriate for barter or for small trade
3
: close association or connection
will have no truck with crooks
4
: payment of wages in goods instead of cash
5
: vegetables grown for market
6
: heterogeneous small articles often of little value
also : rubbish

Examples of truck in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
He's designed systems for hybrid commercial trucks to control emissions and other tasks. Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 14 Mar. 2024 Railroads do have a remarkably safe track record — much better than trucks — and the statistics show there are only 2.1 derailments per every million miles freight travels on rail across the country. Josh Funk, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024 Ford is cutting production of its F-150 Lightning electric truck. Melvin Backman, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024 That includes providing a reliable link within the state's freeway system for trucks that haul freight throughout Wisconsin and other states, according to business groups, construction labor unions and other supporters. Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2024 On one occasion the Nio moved from the outside of a highway into the middle lane, and seemed to be getting very close to a container truck with an empty trailer, leading me to question whether the system was actually sensing the trailer part or not. Mark Andrews, WIRED, 13 Mar. 2024 Child Killed, Over 20 Injured After Ohio School Bus Crash on First Day of School: 'Tragic' All three children, the school bus driver and the truck driver were killed. Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024 He was then found dead in his truck in the hotel parking lot, the BBC reported. Sarah Al-Arshani, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2024 Questions still to be resolved include how many trucks of aid will be allowed into Gaza, ratios of hostages to prisoners — and which ones — amid competing demands and refusals from Israel and Hamas. Karen Deyoung, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2024
Verb
Like in every landfill, moisture in the trash that’s trucked in mixes with rainfall and collects into a polluted soup known as leachate. Chloe Johnson, Journal Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2024 The bright white sand on South Beach is Floridian but trucked in from mines to combat coastal erosion. Alice Newell-Hanson Stefan Ruiz, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024 They were build in Duluth and trucked to Saint Paul in sections, where course builders welded them together in place to ensure a snug fit. Michelle Bruton, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 Space shuttle’s rockets will be trucked through SoCal roads Tuesday and Wednesday. Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2023 But there could be unintended consequences as a result, such as higher costs or more greenhouse gas emissions from trucking it a longer distance. Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2023 The limited amount of aid trucked into Gaza from Egypt over the weekend—mostly medical supplies, food and bottled water—didn’t include fuel. WSJ, 23 Oct. 2023 Both moves were done by Kelly Brothers House Moving, which in recent years also trucked Poor House Bistro and Pallesen apartment building to new locations. Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2024 Mineral water trucked into the territory in aid convoys has been enough for only 4 percent of the population, according to the United Nations World Food Program. Ameera Harouda Yousef Masoud, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'truck.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

probably back-formation from truckle small wheel — more at truckle bed

Verb (2)

Middle English trukken, from Anglo-French *truker, *troker, from Vulgar Latin *troccare, probably of imitative origin

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb (1)

1748, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Verb (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1553, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of truck was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near truck

Cite this Entry

“Truck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/truck. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

truck

1 of 3 noun
1
2
: goods for barter or for small trade
3
: close association
have no truck with such people
4
: vegetables grown for market
5
a
: small articles of little value
b

truck

2 of 3 noun
: a wheeled vehicle for moving heavy articles

truck

3 of 3 verb
: to transport on or by truck
Etymology

Noun

from earlier truck (verb) "to exchange goods, swap," from Middle English trukken (same meaning), from early French troquer (same meaning)

Noun

from truck "a small wheel," from truckle "small wheel, pulley," from Middle English trokell "caster, wheel," from Latin trochlea "block of pulleys"

More from Merriam-Webster on truck

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