taxicab
noun
taxi·cab
ˈtak-sē-ˌkab 
: an automobile that carries passengers for a fare usually determined by the distance traveled
Examples of taxicab in a Sentence
took a taxicab to the airport
Recent Examples on the Web
Almost a year ago a French inventor is said to have demonstrated a mysterious ray which caused Parisian taxicabs to stop.
—
Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 25 June 2024
In a demo made in collaboration with vision-assistance app Be My Eyes, a blind user gets near-instant descriptions of their surroundings, ranging from the actions of a group of ducks in the water to the approach of a nearby taxicab.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 13 May 2024
Henry recommended that city school officials recover funds from the vendors and enforce a requirement that taxicabs provide access to GPS tracking information.
—Lilly Price, Baltimore Sun, 10 Apr. 2024
The Taxi Workers Alliance argued that the TLC didn’t have the legal authority to unilaterally change the license plate cap rules, and that a slew of new vehicles with TLC plates would saturate the market, hurting existing ride-share and yellow taxicab drivers.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 4 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for taxicab 
Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 25 June 2024
In a demo made in collaboration with vision-assistance app Be My Eyes, a blind user gets near-instant descriptions of their surroundings, ranging from the actions of a group of ducks in the water to the approach of a nearby taxicab.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 13 May 2024
Henry recommended that city school officials recover funds from the vendors and enforce a requirement that taxicabs provide access to GPS tracking information.
—Lilly Price, Baltimore Sun, 10 Apr. 2024
The Taxi Workers Alliance argued that the TLC didn’t have the legal authority to unilaterally change the license plate cap rules, and that a slew of new vehicles with TLC plates would saturate the market, hurting existing ride-share and yellow taxicab drivers.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 4 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for taxicab
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'taxicab.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to taxicab
Dictionary Entries Near taxicab
Cite this Entry
“Taxicab.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/taxicab. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
taxicab
noun
taxi·cab
ˈtak-sē-ˌkab
: an automobile that carries passengers for a fare usually based on the distance traveled
Etymology
from earlier taximeter cab, from French taximètre, literally "tax meter," and English cab, a shortened form of cabriolet "a one-horse carriage"
Word Origin
In the days of horse-drawn vehicles, one type of carriage was called a cabriolet, from a French word meaning "leap." This name was fitting since the carriage was so light it bounced or "leaped" about on the rough roads of the time. In time the name cabriolet was shortened to cab. These cabs were popular as vehicles carrying passengers for a fee. They were equipped with a taximeter, a device that automatically recorded the distance traveled and showed what fee or "tax" the passenger owed. In time this carriage or "cab" with its taximeter came to be called a taximeter cab. When the automobile took over from carriages the job of carrying passengers for a fee, it took over the name taximeter cab as well. This name was soon shortened to taxicab, and that was later shortened to taxi and sometimes just cab.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share