van

English · Español · Français · Deutsch · Italiano · Português · Tiếng Việt · Română · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

van^¹

/væn/ US, UK
/van/ British, Southern, Standard
/vaːn/ British, Southern, Standard
/van/ Northern England, Scotland, Wales
/væːn/ Australia
/vɛn/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

Short for caravan.

noun vans

A covered motor vehicle used to carry goods or (normally less than ten) persons, usually roughly cuboid in shape, Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and longer and higher than a car but relatively smaller than a truck/lorry or a bus. While Santa Monica has a longstanding prohibition against public camping that includes living in vehicles, the van rental business has been a problem in Venice for years. […] Organizations that provide safe parking locations have limited capacity and are often unable to accommodate the kind of non-o
Similar: minivan, minibus
UK An enclosed railway vehicle for transport of goods, such as a boxcar/box van.
dated A light wagon, either covered or open, used by tradesmen and others for the transportation of goods.
A large towable vehicle equipped for the repair of structures that cannot easily be moved. Designed to be fully mobile and self-contained, the complete equipment includes an air-conditioned van containing all necessary electronic gear and a flat bed trailer in which missiles, jet engines and other large assemblies may be cleaned.

verb vans · vanning · vanned

transitive To transport in a van or similar vehicle (especially of horses). I have to have a license to own them, a license to train them, my jockey has to have a license to ride them, the van company must have a license to van them, and the black shoe man must have a license to shoe them.
Internet, used in passive voice Of law enforcement: to arrest (not necessarily in a van; derived from party van). One Anon explained the reason for this, saying: "As for the domains, they were transferred to Ryan after some of us got vanned so he can keep the network up. What he did certainly wasn't the plan." (Getting "vanned" refers to getting picked up by the police.)

van^²

/væn/ US, UK
/van/ British, Southern, Standard
/vaːn/ British, Southern, Standard
/van/ Northern England, Scotland, Wales
/væːn/ Australia
/vɛn/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

Shortening of vanguard.

noun vans

abbreviation, clipping Clipping of vanguard Ten thousand thousand Ensignes high advanc'd, / Standards, and Gonfalons twixt Van and Reare / Streame in the Aire, and for distinction serve

van^³

/væn/ US, UK
/van/ British, Southern, Standard
/vaːn/ British, Southern, Standard
/van/ Northern England, Scotland, Wales
/væːn/ Australia
/vɛn/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

From Cornish.

noun vans

A shovel used in cleansing ore.

verb vans · vanning · vanned

To wash or cleanse, as a small portion of ore, on a shovel.

van^⁴

/væn/ US, UK
/van/ British, Southern, Standard
/vaːn/ British, Southern, Standard
/van/ Northern England, Scotland, Wales
/væːn/ Australia
/vɛn/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

From Latin vannus (“a van, or fan for winnowing grain”): compare French van and English fan, winnow. Doublet of fan.

noun vans

A fan or other contrivance, such as a sieve, for winnowing grain. with strange amaze / A shepherd meeting thee, the oar surveys, / And names a van (Book XI)
A wing with which the air is beaten. So Satan fell; and ſtrait a fiery Globe / Of Angels on full ſail of wing flew nigh, / Who on their plumy Vans receiv'd him ſoft […]

Van^⁵

/væn/

Sounds like van · Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

* In the United States, usually taken from a first name or surname.

* In Wales, from Y Fan, see Welsh fan.

proper noun

An unincorporated community in Arkansas County, Arkansas.
An unincorporated community in Polk County, Missouri.
An unincorporated community in Harney County, Oregon.
A city in Van Zandt County, Texas.
An unincorporated community in Lee County, Virginia.
A census-designated place in Boone County, West Virginia.
A community and suburb of Caerphilly in Caerphilly borough (OS grid ref ST1686).
A hamlet in Llanidloes Without community, Powys (OS grid ref SN9587).

Van^⁶

/væn/

Sounds like van · Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

Shortening.

proper noun

A diminutive of the female given name Vanessa.
A diminutive of the male given names Vance, Ivan, and Evan. 'Beautiful idea,' said Van as he helped Ada to heat the tank, fill the old battered bath and warm a couple of towels.

Van^⁷

/væn/

Sounds like van · Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

From Turkish Van, from Ottoman Turkish وان (Van), from Middle Armenian Վան (Van).

proper noun

A large saline tectonic lake of the Armenian Highland in eastern Turkey, famous for its Chalcalburnus tarichi (syn. Alburnus tarichi) fish and the 10th century Armenian cathedral on Akhtamar Island.
A province and metropolitan municipality in easternmost Turkey, partly surrounding the lake, with a Kurdish majority.
A city, the capital of Van Province, Turkey, on the shore of the lake.

Van^⁸

/væn/

Sounds like van · Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

Abbreviation of Vancouver.

proper noun Van. · VAN

abbreviation Abbreviation of Vancouver

Van^⁹

/væn/

Sounds like van · Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

Backformed from Van cat and Turkish Van.

noun Vans

A Van cat.
A Turkish Van cat.

VAN¹⁰

noun VANs

abbreviation Abbreviation of value-added network

proper noun Van. · Van · VAN.

abbreviation Abbreviation of Vancouver
Similar: YVR

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: caravan, vanguard, avant garde, lorry, minivan, truckload, minibus, truck, bus, car, wagon, vehicle, ambulance, rig, camper, fan

Translations

Every language

noun a covered vehicle

Español	furgoneta, furgón, van, autobusete, minibús, microbús
한국어	반 ban, 승합차 seunghapcha
日本語	バン ban, 貨車 kasha
中文	貨車 /货车 huòchē, 麵包車 /面包车 miànbāochē
Português	furgão, van
Français	fourgon, fourgonnette, camionnette
Deutsch	Transporter, Lieferwagen
Italiano	furgone
Ελληνικά	φορτηγάκι fortigáki, βαν van
Română	furgonetă, dubă, autodubă, dubiță, autodubiță
Русский	фурго́н furgón, фу́ра fúra, вэн vɛn
Tiếng Việt	xe van, xe ô tô khách
العربية	عَرَبَة نَقْل ʕarabat naql
עברית	עגלת צב, משאית סגורה masait sgura, סעון saon, משלוחית mishlokhit, טרנזיט tranzit

noun enclosed railway vehicle for transport of goods

Español	vagón
한국어	객차 gaekcha
日本語	客車 kyakusha
中文	車廂 /车厢 chēxiāng
Português	vagão
Italiano	vagone merci
Ελληνικά	βαγόνι vagóni
Română	vagon
Русский	ваго́н vagón

name lake

Deutsch	Van
Русский	Ван
العربية	بُحَيْرَة وَان buḥayrat wān, بُحَيْرَة الطِرِّيخ buḥayrat aṭ-ṭirrīḵ, بُحَيْرَة أَرْجِيش buhayrat ʔarjīš

name city

Deutsch	Van
Русский	Ван
العربية	وَان wān

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"van." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/van. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

APA

van. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/van

Chicago

"van." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/van.

BibTeX

@misc{van_2026,
  title = {van},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/van},
  urldate = {2026-11-05}
}

van

AI In plain words

van¹

Where it comes from

noun vans

verb vans · vanning · vanned

van²

Where it comes from

noun vans

van³

Where it comes from

noun vans

verb vans · vanning · vanned

van⁴

Where it comes from

noun vans

Van⁵

Where it comes from

proper noun

Van⁶

Where it comes from

proper noun

Van⁷

Where it comes from

proper noun

Van⁸

Where it comes from

proper noun Van. · VAN

Van⁹

Where it comes from

noun Vans

VAN10

noun VANs

proper noun Van. · Van · VAN.

Thesaurus

Translations

noun a covered vehicle

noun enclosed railway vehicle for transport of goods

name lake

name city

van^¹

van^²

van^³

van^⁴

Van^⁵

Van^⁶

Van^⁷

Van^⁸

Van^⁹

VAN¹⁰