limousine

noun

lim·​ou·​sine ˈli-mə-ˌzēn  ˌli-mə-ˈzēn 

1

: a large luxurious often chauffeur-driven sedan that usually has a glass partition separating the driver's seat from the passenger compartment

2

: a large vehicle for transporting passengers to and from an airport

Examples of limousine in a Sentence

The bride and groom rode in a limousine from the church to the reception hall.

Recent Examples on the Web

The money was used for hotels, flights, limousines, and other personal and business dealings. —Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 21 Nov. 2024

To wit, an Octane 1984 Lincoln limousine once played its much older 1950s cousin on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel because the director needed the cast to be facing one another on board, a seating innovation that hadn’t yet been popularized during the show’s actual time period. —Brett Berk, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2024

The first two episodes of Monsters paint a portrait of the brothers that matches the first impressions most people got of them from the media: They are entitled, rich, preppy, swole dudes tooling around Los Angeles in limousines. —Jen Chaney, Vulture, 20 Sep. 2024

Meanwhile, fans, mostly teenage girls (some carrying their schoolbooks), crowd the barriers at the Plaza Hotel, penetrate its halls, press their faces to the windows of the limousine carrying the band to the Sullivan show, and chase it down the street. —Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "automobile having a fully enclosed passenger compartment with the driver's seat protected only by the windshield and a forward extension of the roof," borrowed from French, noun derivative from feminine of limousin "of limoges or limousin, France"

Note: The motivation behind the name has not been satisfactorily established. The authors of (vol. 5, p. 347, note 4) suggest that the allusion is to French limousine in the sense "cape-like coat of goatskins or coarse wool worn by wagoners, shepherds, etc.," the roof over the driver being compared to the protective cloak. Such a comparison has parallels—note French capote "hooded cloak" and "top of a convertible," as well as English bonnet entry 1. A difficulty with this hypothesis is that from the word's earliest appearance in French, apparently in 1900, it refers to the entire carriage style, not the covering over the driver. According to Trésor de la langue française, a different explanation is offered in the journal La vie parisienne, issue of December 10, 1904, which attributes the invention of this style to the engineer Charles Jeantaud (1840-1906), who was born in Limoges. However, none of the available photos of the battery-powered vehicles designed by Jeantaud show any resemblance to early limousines.

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing limousine

• limousine liberal
• stretch limousine

Kids Definition

limousine

noun

lim·​ou·​sine ˈlim-ə-ˌzēn 

ˌlim-ə-ˈzēn

1

: a large luxurious automobile often driven by a chauffeur

2

: a large vehicle for passengers going to and from an airport