tractor trailer
15
3.0
- noun
- /ˈtræktər ˈtreɪlər/
- US
:
camión con remolque
- The large tractor trailer was loaded with fresh produce and ready to deliver.
- tractor trailer truck
- tractor trailer loads
The collision will supposedly leave a crater big enough to fit several semi tractor trailers.
- The collision will supposedly leave a crater big enough to fit several semi tractor trailers.
- Two big vans sitting on tractor trailer trucks.
- They're in a steel box, tractor trailer, steel box, black, nowhere in the middle of summer.
Examples
-
The road to Iraq is lined for miles with tractor-trailer trucks hauling supplies from Turkey.
Academic text (2008) -
The signature of a tractor-trailer truck: 80,000 pounds at 65 mph.
Fiction book (1998) -
Why are there all these tractor-trailers?
-
"You could drive a tractor-trailer through that gap," my father said.
Fiction book (2002) -
Wallace is about to answer when he sees a tractor-trailer pull into the lot.
Fiction book (1999) -
On the Maryland side, crews were trying to remove several tractor-trailers stuck on the highway.
Blog text (11) -
Next week a tractor-trailer is coming to haul it to Michigan, where he plans to sail.
Fiction book (1995) -
A tractor trailer is broken down in the number-one lane.
-
Mr. Rose gestures for Muddy to drive off; the tractor trailer pulls away.
Fiction book (1999) -
101 is blocked due to an overturned tractor trailer at the Burbank entrance.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Large heavy vehicle that carries goods or equipment on roads
69
5.5
A large vehicle, especially a truck, used for carrying goods
30
4.2
A very large truck or its trailer used to carry goods
11
3.5
A large vehicle like a truck that carries heavy loads
2
3.2
A very large vehicle with a separate trailer that carries goods
A large truck with a tractor and trailer that carries goods long distances
A large truck with a front cab and a long trailer joined by a moving joint to carry goods
Two trailers joined in a line and pulled by one truck
A large vehicle that carries goods
How Large
1
4.5
- Specialized
- US
15
3.0
- US
∞
1.0
3
1.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning of 'tractor trailer' is directly compositional from 'tractor' (a road tractor unit) + 'trailer' (an unpowered freight trailer): together they denote a truck unit that pulls a trailer. This is a common, cross-linguistic naming pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Tractor trailer shows a simple picture: a strong truck, the tractor, that 'pulls' a long back part, the trailer, which carries the goods. That's why the name means a big truck plus its trailer used to transport goods on the road.