estate car
- noun
- /ɪˈsteɪt kɑːr/
- UK
:
familiar
- The estate car proved to be perfect for transporting both pets and their belongings.
Examples
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After the family vacation, we loaded the luggage into the spacious estate car.
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American Ambassador, white estate car.
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Hi Perry, I was thinking that you would have driven an estate car that would have been five to eight years old and going great.
Blog text (10) -
A boy and a girl were spending the night together in the back seat of a Volvo estate car.
Fiction book (1999) -
White estate car.
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You are requested assist Panda Four in pursuit of white estate car, north Seven Hills Road.
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You are requested assist Panda 4... in pursuit white estate car, north, Seven Hills Road
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We packed the estate car with camping gear for our weekend trip.
Synonyms
93
1.4
A car with extra space behind the rear seats for cargo
66
2.9
A car with a long back and extra space for luggage
A car with a long body and a door behind the seats for carrying luggage
A long car with extra space behind the seats and a rear door
A car with a long body and back door with extra space behind the back seat for bags or people
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
estate + car
Although 'car' is transparent, the noun 'estate' (meaning property/land) does not convey the specific sense of a vehicle with an extended rear for luggage, so the overall meaning 'station wagon' is not derivable from the parts. This is a British lexicalized term (equivalent to 'station wagon') and the relation to 'estate' is historical and language-specific, making it unpredictable for a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Estate car may come from cars used on big country estates to carry luggage, dogs or farm gear, so they had extra space at the back. That's why estate car means 'a car with extra space at the back' today.