streetcar

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streetcar

/ˈstɹitˌkɑɹ/ US

Where it comes from

From street + car. Coined before the era of motorcars, the term emphasized a type of car on rails that were in the street (along with foot traffic, wagons, and carriages) rather than on a separate, dedicated railroad, as a railcar is.

noun streetcars

Canada, US A tram or light rail vehicle, usually a single car but sometimes multiple cars attached together, operating on city streets; a trolley car. Here, outside, in the light and the shade and the heat, there was a great tinkling of the bells of innumerable streetcars, and a constant strolling and shuffling and rustling of many pedestrians, a large proportion of whom were young women in Pompadour-looking dresses.
Similar: tram

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: tram, trolley car, tramcar, trolley, tramway, tramrail, street railway, railcar, well car, tram rail, trap car, tram track, train, boxcar, town car, car barn

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MLA

"streetcar." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/streetcar. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

streetcar. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/streetcar

Chicago

"streetcar." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/streetcar.

BibTeX

@misc{streetcar_2026,
  title = {streetcar},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/streetcar},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}