ambulance

IPA/ˈæmbjələns/
KK[ˈæmbjələns]IPA/ˈæmbjələns/

ambulance — noun

  • ambulancesingular
  • ambulancesplural

1. a road vehicle fitted with medical equipment and a flashing light, which carries

1.nounA2
Definition

a road vehicle fitted with medical equipment and a flashing light, which carries people who are very ill or badly hurt to a hospital so doctors can treat them quickly.

Example

Ilya called an ambulance after her grandfather fell on the kitchen floor.

collocation: call an ambulance

The ambulance crew rushed Bao to the hospital with a broken leg.

collocation: ambulance crew

Common collocations
  • call an ambulance
  • dial an ambulance
  • ambulance crew
  • ambulance driver
  • ambulance service
  • by ambulance
Synonyms
  • EMS

    American abbreviation for Emergency Medical Service; refers to the whole system, not just one vehicle

  • paramedic van

    informal; emphasises the medical staff inside rather than the vehicle

Grammar Patterns

call/dial an ambulance

by ambulance

Usage Note

Almost always used with the verbs 'call' or 'dial' when asking for emergency help. The phrase 'by ambulance' takes no article, like 'by car' or 'by train'.

Common Mistakes

I went to the hospital by an ambulance.
I went to the hospital by ambulance.
drop the article in 'by + transport' phrases.
Please order an ambulance!
Please call an ambulance!
'order' is wrong here; the standard verb is 'call' or 'dial'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three terms relate to emergency medical response, but they refer to different things. 'Ambulance' is the vehicle itself — the van or truck with sirens that drives a sick or injured person to hospital. 'EMS' (Emergency Medical Service) is the wider American system that includes the dispatchers, ambulances, and trained staff who answer 911 calls. 'Paramedic' is the person — a highly trained medical worker who rides in the ambulance and treats patients on the way. So you call an ambulance, you work for the EMS, and you are treated by a paramedic. For example, 'A paramedic gave Anaya oxygen inside the ambulance while EMS coordinated the route to the nearest trauma centre.'

ambulance ↗EMS ↗paramedic ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • ambulance crew
  • ambulance driver
  • ambulance service
  • ambulance station
  • ambulance siren

Phrases

  • call an ambulance
  • dial an ambulance
  • wait for an ambulance

Prepositions

  • by ambulance
  • in an ambulance

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Borrowed into English in the late 1700s from French 'hôpital ambulant', meaning a 'walking' or moving hospital — a field hospital that followed armies onto the battlefield. The French word traces back to Latin 'ambulare', meaning 'to walk'. Over time, the meaning narrowed from a mobile field hospital to the single vehicle that carries patients today.