patrol car
45
2.8
- noun
- /pəˈtroʊl kɑr/
:
coche patrulla
- The officer drove the patrol car around the neighborhood to ensure everyone's safety.
- a police patrol car
- officers in patrol cars
- an unmarked patrol car
As I'm doing that, seeing this patrol car come down the street.
- As I'm doing that, seeing this patrol car come down the street.
- And then they get in the patrol car and start heading South.
- He runs back to his patrol car, gets in the car and slams the door just in time to get smacked by a freaking Wonder Bread truck.
- I think it was after that the patrol car.
Examples
-
As if on cue, a patrol car passes, the officer giving us a friendly wave.
Fiction book (1991) -
I'll send a patrol car to take you to the commissioner's office.
-
And It turns out a patrol car is missing from the scene.
-
Is there not a patrol car available?
-
A couple patrol cars are coming down the service road as well.
-
The patrol car's been found.
-
The lights on the patrol car suddenly go on, and Jim takes off.
Fiction book (1995) -
And then they get in the patrol car and start heading South.
-
So why were they in uniform and in a patrol car?
-
Frank runs out, gets into a patrol car, and drives off.
Fiction book (1992)
Synonyms
90
1.0
A car used by police to patrol streets and respond to emergencies
40
2.7
A car police use while patrolling, usually with a radio
32
3.2
A police car that patrols streets
9
3.0
A car that police officers use for patrolling, often with lights and a siren
A police car that drives around streets to watch for trouble
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a police car used for patrolling' is directly and compositionally built from 'patrol' (an activity/unit that watches an area) + 'car' (a vehicle), so the overall sense is predictable from the parts. This modifier+noun pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Patrol car The noun patrol car comes from police driving slowly around an area to look for trouble. The word patrol means 'to move around and check' and car shows the vehicle used, so the phrase means 'a police car used for patrolling'.