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RV

RV

50 3.0
A large vehicle like a van or bus that people live in while they travel
  • noun
  • /ɑr vi/
  • US
translation icon : autocaravana
  • Kevin and his girl, RADA, are the welcoming committee as the RV pulls into the parking lot.
  • an RV park

Don't don't stay in an RV on Bourbon Street.

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Examples

  • Use the quiet time during the evening in your RV or room to inspect and clean everything.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Is that your RV outside?

  • You got to watch the inside of this RV light up.

  • And I bought an RV thinking that that would be a a great idea.

  • We are in an RV park.

  • Get in the RV right now.

  • We took a like an RV, which is like a recreational vehicle.

  • All across the land, RV parks are offering community choral activities.

    Academic text (1992)
  • As Mitch Johnson drove back toward the RV, he was almost wild with anticipation.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • We are in an RV park where many people have parked their vehicles for the weekend.

Synonyms

camper
vsRV
  • US
41 3.0

A vehicle with a small kitchen and sleeping area for traveling

is limited to a motor vehicle rather than including trailers
Winnebago
vsRV
15 6.7

A large motor home used for travel and living on the road

is the general vehicle type not a brand name
motor home
vsRV
14 3.4

A large vehicle with a kitchen, bathroom, and beds for living while traveling

is the general motor vehicle for living rather than a house-like vehicle
4 3.4

A large vehicle with living space that people use for travel and camping

is the shorter common vehicle term used in everyday speech
motorhome
vsRV
3 3.0

A large vehicle like a small home where people live and sleep while traveling

is the broader common term for a motor vehicle with living space
R.V.
vsRV
  • US
3.9

A large vehicle like a van or bus that has a bed and a small kitchen

is the same meaning but written without periods in modern usage
3.4

A large vehicle with beds and a small kitchen for camping trips

is the more general motor vehicle for living not limited to bus shape

How Big

motorhome
3 3.0
RV
  • US
50 3.0
trailer
  • US
293 2.6
camper trailer
  • Australian
1 3.4

Surface Forms

RV singular
RVs plural

Morphology

RV = recreational + vehicle (semi-transparent) = R + V

The initialism RV directly represents the phrase 'recreational vehicle', so knowing those words makes the meaning obvious. [Postprocessing: changed transparency from 'transparent' to 'semi-transparent' for abbreviation]

Etymology

RV comes from the phrase recreational vehicle, where recreational means 'for fun' and vehicle means a 'car or truck'. So an RV is a vehicle you can live in while you travel or go camping.