compact car
4
2.8
- noun
- /ˈkɒmpækt kɑr/
- US
:
automóvil compacto
- I wish I could get by with only a compact car.
- drive a compact car
- build a compact car
- new compact car
Nissan has a sub compact car called the March.
- Nissan has a sub compact car called the March.
- As far as compact cars go, this thing is kind of on the next level.
Examples
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She decided to buy a compact car because it is easier to park in the city.
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I drive a very nice compact car.
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Now, if we were talking compact cars, the Mazda3 is much better than the Civic, in my opinion.
Blog text (16) -
It's a compact car.
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The Dart, you might remember, was one of the most popular compact cars of the '60s and '70s.
Blog text (34) -
As the sun sinks lower, we watch the first pizza delivery boys of the evening zoom off in their compact cars, and it's a sight that hurts to see.
Fiction book (1999) -
As I wheeled my old compact car around in the parking lot, I saw Mr. Lunt's granddaughter standing by the street outside the main entrance.
Fiction book (2000) -
The rental agency had several options, but I chose the compact car for its fuel efficiency.
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He loves driving his compact car around town because it saves him money on gas.
Synonyms
6
3.0
A small car with four or five seats that uses little fuel
Antonyms
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a small, fuel-efficient automobile' is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'compact' (small, closely packed) with 'car' (automobile). This adj‑noun/noun‑noun compounding is a regular, cross‑linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Compact car comes from the idea of a compact, that is, a small and tightly packed car. Car makers used compact to show the model was smaller than normal and easy to park, so today compact car means a small car that uses less fuel.