What is the meaning of limousine

Limousine Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

lim·ou·sine ˈli-mə-ˌzēn

ˌli-mə-ˈzēn

: a large luxurious often chauffeur-driven sedan that usually has a glass partition separating the driver's seat from the passenger compartment

: a large vehicle for transporting passengers to and from an airport

Example Sentences

The bride and groom rode in a limousine from the church to the reception hall.

Recent Examples on the Web Exceptions will be made for some high-risk dignitaries, including Biden, who will travel in his own armored limousine. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2022 In prior testimony, Hutchinson had offered a key piece of evidence about Trump’s temper tantrum in his limousine when the Secret Service refused to drive him to the Capitol to cheer on the armed mob. Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 21 July 2022 The first encounter, captured by Saudi television, occurred as Biden stepped out of his presidential limousine in Jeddah for a visit that is intended to reset their countries’ longstanding partnership. Aamer Madhani, Chicago Tribune, 15 July 2022 The first encounter, captured by Saudi television, occurred as Biden stepped out of his presidential limousine in Jeddah for a visit that is intended to reset their countries’ longstanding partnership. Ellen Knickmeyer, Chris Megerian, Aamer Madhani, Anchorage Daily News, 15 July 2022 But Pence refused his top agent’s recommendation to climb into his armored limousine, for fear agents might drive him away from the building. Carol D. Leonnig, Washington Post, 2 July 2022 As the president walked to his limousine, Hinckley fired six shots, striking Reagan in the chest. Major Garrett, CBS News, 28 June 2022 Albright rapped on the window of his limousine, Boucher told me, and urged Arafat not to abandon negotiations. Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2022 More important, Hutchinson detailed the struggle in the president’s limousine as Trump demanded to be driven to the Capitol. Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 13 Oct. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'limousine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, cloak, from Limousin, France

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of limousine was in 1902

See more words from the same year

Dictionary Entries Near

limousine

Limousin

limousine

limousine liberal

See More Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

Style

MLAChicagoAPAMerriam-Webster

“Limousine. ” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/limousine. Accessed 9 Nov. 2022.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

limousine

lim·ou·sine ˈlim-ə-ˌzēn

ˌlim-ə-ˈzēn

: a large luxurious automobile often driven by a chauffeur

: a large vehicle for passengers going to and from an airport

Limousine Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

Top Definitions
Quiz
Related Content
Examples
British

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

[ lim-uh-zeen, lim-uh-zeen ]

/ ˈlɪm əˌzin, ˌlɪm əˈzin /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for limousine on Thesaurus.com

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

noun

any large, luxurious automobile, especially one driven by a chauffeur.

a large sedan or small bus, especially one for transporting passengers to and from an airport, between train stations, etc.

a former type of automobile having a permanently enclosed compartment for from three to five persons, with a roof projecting forward over the driver's seat in front.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

Origin of limousine

1900–05; <French: kind of motorcar, special use of limousine long cloak, so called because worn by the shepherds of Limousin

Words nearby limousine

Limoges, Limón, limonene, limonite, Limousin, limousine, limousine liberal, limp, limpet, limpid, limpkin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

Words related to limousine

auto, bus, convertible, pickup truck, sports car, station wagon, taxi, transportation, truck, van, automobile, jeep, machine, motor, ride, wagon, bug, buggy, compact, crate

How to use limousine in a sentence

Former cheerleader and marketing manager Tiffani Johnston told the Committee that Snyder put his hand on her thigh under the table at a team dinner, and later, pressed his hand into her back to coerce her to ride in a limousine with him.
The NFL Keeps Fumbling and Congress Keeps Punting|Abby Vesoulis|February 8, 2022|Time
A white stretch limousine took Tupac off to a private plane that awaited at the local airport.
Tupac Shakur’s Race-Killer Prison Pal Talks|Michael Daly|July 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"She looked me in the eye," one limousine driver recalled, surprised and grateful.
The Day the Fairytale Died|Marilyn Johnson|July 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“The ride arrived, and it was a limousine-type car with a Virginia plate,” he recalled.
Inside Uber’s Political War Machine|Olivia Nuzzi|June 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Abdi worked with his brother in a mobile phone store, as a DJ, and most recently, a limousine driver.
Barkhad Abdi: From Limo Driver to Oscar Contender|Tim Teeman|February 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Knowing of their poverty, Jackson even sent a limousine to drive the entire family.
Gavin Arvizo’s New Beginning: Jackson Abuse Accuser Gets Married at 24|Diane Dimond|December 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Mr. Cordyce smiled about his eyes as he closed his desk, ordered his limousine, and went out and locked the door of his office.
The Box-Car Children|Gertrude Chandler Warner
In the street a luxurious limousine was tooting for a ramshackle prairie schooner to turn to one side.
The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch|Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter
Ill bet some day Ill see you rolling down the avenue in a fine limousine just like Mrs. Van Astorbilt.
The Woman Gives|Owen Johnson
It was warm in his limousine, which was electrically heated.
The Daffodil Mystery|Edgar Wallace
He would find her and the green limousine chap with whom he would have a reckoning.
The Secret Witness|George Gibbs

British Dictionary definitions for limousine

limousine

/ (ˈlɪməˌziːn, ˌlɪməˈziːn) /

noun

any large and luxurious car, esp one that has a glass division between the driver and passengers

a former type of car in which the roof covering the rear seats projected over the driver's compartment

Word Origin for limousine

C20: from French, literally: cloak (originally one worn by shepherds in Limousin), hence later applied to the car

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Limousine | it's... What's a limousine?

US President R. Nixon in his limousine.

Personal limousine (stretch) of the President of the United States.

Limousine (fr. limousine ) - a closed car body with a rigid, usually equipped with a lifting glass, partition between the driver's compartment and the rest of the cabin ^[1].

In German, the term "Limousine" refers to any closed car body with a hard top, two or four doors and four or more side windows, including station wagon and hatchback - DIN 70011 ^[2]

1 Name
2 Typology
3 Design
4 Pullman Limousines
5 History of limousines in America
6 Examples of limousine vehicles
7 See also
8 References and notes

Name

The word "limousine" comes from the name of the French province of Limousin, but not directly, but through the name of the hood worn by the Limousin shepherds and which, in fact, the first bodies of this type were similar to.

Typology

Stretch limousine based on Cadillac Escalade, St. Petersburg.

The classic (“factory”) limousine has a body specially designed for it, structurally slightly elongated compared to a conventional sedan due to a slightly increased wheelbase and a roof extended back behind the rear doors, usually carrying additional side windows of the third row. This type included, for example, domestic ZIL brand limousines, English Rolls-Royce, Bentley and many American models. There is also an opinion that a classic limousine should have a glass partition, often retractable, between the front row of seats and the main cabin.

Stretch limousine based on the serial "Cadillac" with an insert in the middle of the body.

American factory limousine Imperial Crown.

Modern limousines in their absolute majority belong to the so-called "stretch-limousine" type (Stretch-Limousine), they are made non-factory by specialized companies from ready-made bodies of standard cars, and due to technological limitations, they are elongated due to the physical insertion into the body of an additional section, located between the front and rear doors.

Design

Salon limousine.

Most of the limousines have a frame structure, since the load-bearing body with such a length of the car turns out to be overweight. Since frame models are currently rare, the choice of sources for the manufacture of limousines is very limited. For example, in the USA, mainly full-size Lincoln cars and frame SUVs are converted into stretches, while Cadillacs, which dominated the elongated car market until the mid-nineties, are no longer popular - they have load-bearing bodies.

Pullman limousines

Pullman based on the Mercedes-Benz W220

The term Pullman-Limousine is used in German for a body with a bulkhead and usually three rows of seats. The name comes from the name of the American inventor and breeder, the founder of the Pullman company, George Mortimer Pullman, who built the most comfortable four-axle cars for the booming US railways in the middle of the 19th century. These real "palaces on wheels" became famous later in numerous westerns, and the word "Pullman" began to be used to denote the highest degree of comfort in relation to transport in general. ^[3]

History of limousines in America

The very first limousines were made in America at the beginning of the last century. Here there was a demand for cars of this class, perhaps primarily due to the fact that the country was not affected by wars. Actually, for the first time, auto mechanics decided to cut a brand new car that came off the assembly line at their own peril and risk. However, the modernization proceeded so well that they decided not to sell the successful amazing car, but to rent a limousine and thus earn money.

Limousines were handled by renowned engineer Henry Leland, who was the founder of two legendary American automobile manufacturers. First, he organizes the Cadillac, and then creates an enterprise with the big name Lincoln. This company organized the production of executive class cars. Limousines of this particular brand were representative and stood in the garages of American presidents for 60 years.

A special feature of the enterprises created by the brilliant engineer was the focus on the buyer from the upper stratum of society, and the products that were manufactured by them were of the highest level. The emphasis was placed primarily on quality, but the appearance of the machines did not receive due attention, which is why the company began to lose profit over time. The production was saved by the famous Henry Ford, who bought the company, appointed his son to the management and began to raise everything virtually from scratch. Under him, they began to pay great attention to the appearance of cars, and the affairs of limousine builders very soon went up.

VAZ-2101 limousine type, Trinidad, Cuba

Stretch Limousine based on Hummer h3

Examples of limousine vehicles

ZAZnayka limousine
ZIL-41047
Mercedes-Benz W100
Lincoln Town Car

Limousine | it's... What's a limousine?

US President R. Nixon in his limousine.

Personal limousine (stretch) of the President of the United States.

Limousine (fr. limousine ) - a closed car body with a rigid, usually equipped with a lifting glass, partition between the driver's compartment and the rest of the cabin ^[1].

In German, the term "Limousine" refers to any closed passenger car body with a hard top, two or four doors and four or more side windows, including station wagon and hatchback - DIN 70011 ^[2]

1 Name
2 Typology
3 Design
4 Pullman Limousines
5 History of limousines in America
6 Examples of limousine vehicles
7 See also
8 References and notes