vans

Noun (1)

van (plural vans)

1. A covered motor vehicle used to carry goods or (normally less than ten) persons, usually roughly cuboid in shape, Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and longer and higher than a car but relatively smaller than a truck/lorry or a bus.
   • While Santa Monica has a longstanding prohibition against public camping that includes living in vehicles, the van rental business has been a problem in Venice for years. […] Organizations that provide safe parking locations have limited capacity and are often unable to accommodate the kind of...2023 May 19, Matthew Hall, “Los Angeles Councilwoman targets “vanlord” industry”, in Santa Monica Daily Press

   Synonyms:

   minivan, minibus

2. (UK) An enclosed railway vehicle for transport of goods, such as a boxcar/box van.
3. (dated) A light wagon, either covered or open, used by tradesmen and others for the transportation of goods.
4. A large towable vehicle equipped for the repair of structures that cannot easily be moved.
   • Designed to be fully mobile and self-contained, the complete equipment includes an air-conditioned van containing all necessary electronic gear and a flat bed trailer in which missiles, jet engines and other large assemblies may be cleaned.1959, Western Aerospace, volume 39, page 46

Noun (2)

van (plural vans)

1. A shovel used in cleansing ore.

Noun (3)

van (plural vans)

1. A fan or other contrivance, such as a sieve, for winnowing grain.
   • with strange amaze / A shepherd meeting thee, the oar surveys, / And names a van (Book XI)1726, Homer, translated by Alexander Pope, The Odyssey

See all 25 meanings of van