ambulance

noun

am·​bu·​lance ˈam-byə-lən(t)s How to pronounce ambulance (audio)
-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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Family members tell White her father was waiting for an ambulance. Wendy Grossman Kantor, People.com, 13 Jan. 2025 The two were waiting for an ambulance but were unable to escape when flames overtook their home, Mitchell's daughter, Hajime White, told The Washington Post. Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025 Popular on Variety Robby, a calm and experienced leader with a phenomenal bedside manner, acts as a center of gravity in an ever-swirling maelstrom of doctors, nurses, students, social workers, ambulance drivers, administrators and patients. Alison Herman, Variety, 9 Jan. 2025 An ambulance took him to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was initially listed in critical condition. Maggie Ybarra, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for ambulance 

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of ambulance was in 1825

Dictionary Entries Near ambulance

Cite this Entry

“Ambulance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambulance. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

ambulance

noun
am·​bu·​lance ˈam-byə-lən(t)s How to pronounce ambulance (audio)
: 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

More from Merriam-Webster on ambulance

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!