Phrase guide

private ambulance

noun · 3 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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1

noun

Meaning 1

A privately-owned non-emergency vehicle, generally used for scheduled patient transport or the transportation of the deceased to a mortuary.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK

Qualifier: strictly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any vehicle which is not a hearse that is used to transport dead bodies for legitimate reasons.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, broadly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see private, ambulance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From private + ambulance, due to such vehicles being privately-owned, rather than under the ownership of the UK's National Health Service.