taxicab

noun

taxi·​cab ˈtak-sē-ˌkab 

: an automobile that carries passengers for a fare usually determined by the distance traveled

Synonyms

• cab
• hack
• taxi

Examples of taxicab in a Sentence

took a taxicab to the airport

Recent Examples on the Web

The print features drawings such as the Statue of Liberty, the New York Public Library, the Guggenheim, a New York City taxicab, a pigeon and Central Park. —Lisa Lockwood, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019

The Taxi Workers Alliance insists that an influx of electric vehicles with TLC plates will saturate the market, hurting existing ride share drivers and yellow taxicab drivers. —Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 14 Feb. 2024

It was talked about everywhere — on taxicab radios, in newspaper headlines, among university peers. —David Ulloa Jr, The Arizona Republic, 14 July 2024

Listen to this article Advocates for disabled people want a federal judge to enforce an agreement by the Taxi and Limousine Commission to make half of New York City’s yellow taxicabs wheelchair accessible. —Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 21 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

taximeter cab

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

taxicab

noun

taxi·​cab ˈtak-sē-ˌkab 

: an automobile that carries passengers for a fare usually based on the distance traveled

Etymology

from earlier taximeter cab, from French taximètre, literally "tax meter," and English cab, a shortened form of cabriolet "a one-horse carriage"

Word Origin

In the days of horse-drawn vehicles, one type of carriage was called a cabriolet, from a French word meaning "leap." This name was fitting since the carriage was so light it bounced or "leaped" about on the rough roads of the time. In time the name cabriolet was shortened to cab. These cabs were popular as vehicles carrying passengers for a fee. They were equipped with a taximeter, a device that automatically recorded the distance traveled and showed what fee or "tax" the passenger owed. In time this carriage or "cab" with its taximeter came to be called a taximeter cab. When the automobile took over from carriages the job of carrying passengers for a fee, it took over the name taximeter cab as well. This name was soon shortened to taxicab, and that was later shortened to taxi and sometimes just cab.