| / English Dictionary |
VAN
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A truck with an enclosed cargo space
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("van" is a kind of...):
motortruck; truck (an automotive vehicle suitable for hauling)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "van"):
bookmobile (a van with shelves of books; serves as a mobile library or bookstore)
delivery truck; delivery van; panel truck (a van suitable for delivering goods or services to customers)
laundry truck (van that picks up and delivers laundry)
milk float (a van (typically powered by electricity) with an open side that is used to deliver milk to houses)
moving van (a van used for moving home or office furniture)
passenger van (a van that carries passengers)
black Maria; paddy wagon; patrol wagon; police van; police wagon; wagon (van used by police to transport prisoners)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A camper equipped with living quarters
Synonyms:
caravan; van
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("van" is a kind of...):
camper; camping bus; motor home (a recreational vehicle equipped for camping out while traveling)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(Great Britain) a closed railroad car that carries baggage or freight
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("van" is a kind of...):
car; railcar; railroad car; railway car (a wheeled vehicle adapted to the rails of railroad)
Domain region:
Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The leading units moving at the head of an army
Synonyms:
van; vanguard
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("van" is a kind of...):
army unit (a military unit that is part of an army)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
Synonyms:
avant-garde; new wave; van; vanguard
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("van" is a kind of...):
art movement; artistic movement (a group of artists who agree on general principles)
Context examples:
Magnetic graphene, or iron trithiohypophosphate (FePS3), is from a family of materials known as van der Waals materials, and was first synthesised in the 1960s.
(‘Magnetic graphene’ switches between insulator and conductor, University of Cambridge)
My father whispered in my ear that his neighbour was Captain Foley, of the Goliath, who led the van at the Nile, and that the tall, thin, foxy-haired man opposite was Lord Cochrane, the most dashing frigate captain in the Service.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Van Weyden, sir.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Affecting biological factors or systems, a Biophysical Process is a subatomic, atomic, or molecular process that involves passive, physical movement; attraction or repulsion (electrostatic, van der Waals, gradient, hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic, hydrophilic, etc.); radiation interaction; or non-enzymatic formation of covalent bonds.
(Biophysical Process, NCI Thesaurus)
While it is encouraging that losses are lower than in the past, I would stop short of calling this 'good' news, said Dennis van Engelsdorp, an assistant professor of entomology at the University of Maryland and project director for the Bee Informed Partnership, in a summary of the study.
(Study Finds Mixed News About Bee Populations, VOA)
The Christchurch townsfolk stood huddled about the Bridge of Avon, the women pulling tight their shawls and the men swathing themselves in their gaberdines, while down the winding path from the castle came the van of the little army, their feet clanging on the hard, frozen road.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Van Helsing walked over to Lucy's coffin, and I followed.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
They descended, took something out of the van, and carried it up the steps to the hall door.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
As I passed the corner which leads from Bentinck Street on to the Welbeck Street crossing a two-horse van furiously driven whizzed round and was on me like a flash.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I remember it as a kind of half chaise-cart, half pianoforte-van, painted of a sombre colour, and drawn by a black horse with a long tail.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
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