Meanings
plural Black Marias
- slangA police van for transporting prisoners.
You know it means no mercy / They caught him with a gun / No need for the Black Maria / Goodbye to the Brixton sun
1979, Paul Simonon, “The Guns of Brixton”, performed by The Clash1 more example
The Upper Ten Thousand have plenty of cash— At the Central Park, on the “Drive,” cut a dash; They have their light wagons, fast horses beside; In the free “Black Maria” the Lower Ten ride.
1867, Tony Pastor, “The Upper and Lower Ten Thousand”, in Tony Pastor’s Book of Six Hundred Comic Songs and SpeechesSynonyms: paddy wagon
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA police van for transporting prisoners.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
nounvan used by police to transport prisoners
nounvan used by police to transport prisoners
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Unknown, though such vans were traditionally painted black. First attested in the 1830s.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish salatfad
- salatfada police van for transporting prisoners
Finnish mustamaija, maija
- mustamaijaa police van for transporting prisoners
- maijaa police van for transporting prisoners
German grüne Minna
- grüne Minnaa police van for transporting prisoners
Norwegian svartemarje
- svartemarjea police van for transporting prisoners
Polish radiowóz, suka
- radiowóza police van for transporting prisoners
- sukaa police van for transporting prisoners
Russian тюре́мная каре́та, вороно́к
- тюре́мная каре́та (tjurémnaja karéta)a police van for transporting prisoners
- вороно́к (voronók)a police van for transporting prisoners
- чёрный во́рон (čórnyj vóron)a police van for transporting prisoners
- чёрная Мару́ся (čórnaja Marúsja)a police van for transporting prisoners
Swedish Svarta Maja
- Svarta Majaa police van for transporting prisoners
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Black Maria
Cite this entry
Black Maria. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Black%20Maria
“Black Maria.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Black%20Maria. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Black Maria,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Black%20Maria.
Source: Black Maria on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.