Phrase guide

patrol car

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The car in which law enforcement officers, such as police officers or park rangers, patrol an area.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: police car, cruise car, cruiser, squad car, radio car, crime car

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: police car, cruise car, cruiser, squad car, radio car, crime car

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: car, motor vehicle, vehicle

2

noun

Meaning 2

a car in which policemen cruise the streets; equipped with radiotelephonic communications to headquarters

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cruiser, police cruiser, police car, prowl car, squad car

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: car, auto, automobile, machine, motorcar

Narrower terms: panda car

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: cotxe patrulla — police car
  • Chinese Mandarin: 巡邏車 /巡逻车 (xúnluóchē) — police car
  • Danish: patruljevogn — police car
  • Danish: patruljebil — police car
  • Danish: politibil — police car
  • Dutch: patrouillewagen — police car
  • Finnish: partioauto — police car
  • French: voiture de patrouille — police car
  • German: Streifenwagen — police car
  • Greek: περιπολικό (peripolikó) — police car
  • Hebrew: נַיֶּדֶת (nayédet) — police car
  • Japanese: パトカー (patokā) — police car
  • Japanese: トロールカー (patorōru kā) — police car
  • Māori: waka tautiaki — police car
  • Polish: radiowóz — police car
  • Russian: патру́льная маши́на (patrúlʹnaja mašína) — police car
  • Spanish: patrulla — police car
  • Swedish: polisbil — police car