police wagon
1
3.3
- noun
- /pəˈlis ˈwæɡən/
- US
:
furgón policial
- The police wagon arrived at the scene to take the detained individuals to the station.
And you, Trump, you should be in the back of a police wagon now being questioned.
- And you, Trump, you should be in the back of a police wagon now being questioned.
Examples
-
Amsterdam is hurled into the police wagon.
Fiction book (2002) -
"When they moved toward the demonstrators, some of the protesters ran after them, raging," Fourest said in a phone call with AFP from a police wagon, where the women had been taken for their own safety.
Blog text (5) -
The woman was waiting there when the police wagon pulled up.
Blog text (21) -
And you, Trump, you should be in the back of a police wagon now being questioned.
-
And across the square, the police wagon carrying Amsterdam starts moving off in the opposite direction.
Fiction book (2002) -
Late in the morning, the police wagon had brought him through the gate of Cook County Jail, most of whose granite-walled cells had no windows.
Fiction book (1993) -
Barton Silverman, center, in a police wagon after being arrested.
Blog text (21) -
After he was arrested in Chicago and dragged into the police wagon, Mr. Silverman was brought to a courthouse along with several hundred others who were swept up by the police.
Blog text (21) -
Carl Crown dashed across Michigan in front of a police wagon, flinging up slush from its wheels.
Fiction book (1993) -
After the arrest was made, the suspect was placed in the back of a police wagon for transport to the precinct.
Synonyms
37
5.9
A van used by police to carry prisoners to a station
5
8.2
A police van that carries prisoners
5
1.6
A van police use to carry people they have arrested
A police van used to carry prisoners
A van used by police to carry arrested people
How Secure
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward compositional compound: 'police' (the law-enforcement organization) modifies 'wagon' (a vehicle), so the phrase denotes a vehicle used by the police, typically for transporting detainees. The semantic relation is direct and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would easily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Police wagon comes from a simple image: long ago, police used a horse-pulled wagon to carry arrested people to the jail. So, police wagon now means a van or vehicle the police use 'to transport prisoners'.