motor vehicle

noun

: an automotive vehicle not operated on rails

especially : one with rubber tires for use on highways

Synonyms of motor vehicle

• car
• bus
• automobile
• machine
• wheels

Examples of motor vehicle in a Sentence

You can register your car at the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

got a license to drive a motor vehicle the minute she turned 16

Recent Examples on the Web

Getting brighter Headlight regulation didn’t emerge from a single incident so much as from a steady mismatch between early motor vehicles and roads still designed for horses and pedestrians. — Matthew MacConnell, ArsTechnica, 3 Aug. 2026

Inscoe turned himself in a few hours later, and was charged with two counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill/inflicting serious injury, and felony larceny of a motor vehicle, the sheriff’s office said. — Mark Price july 31, Charlotte Observer, 31 July 2026

For years, however, the righthand lane was a lane shared by both motor vehicles and bicycles. — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026

Romo was cited for first-offense OWI, unsafe passing and having an open intoxicant in a motor vehicle before being booked and later released pending a September court appearance. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 31 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

motor vehicle

noun

: a motorized vehicle (as an automobile or motorcycle) not operated on rails