Meanings
plural ambulances
- An emergency vehicle designed for transporting seriously ill or injured people to a hospital.First known use 1854
The NHS is bracing itself for its worst ever winter crisis descending in the next fortnight because of a worsening “flu-nami” that has left hospitals, GP surgeries and ambulances services under intense strain.
2025 December 12, Tobi Thomas, Denis Campbell, “NHS bracing for worst ever winter crisis in next fortnight amid rising flu cases”, in The GuardianSynonyms: band-aid buggy, blood box, body box, bone box, meat wagon
- UKA vehicle used for the transportation of dead people, typically to a mortuary.
Synonyms: private ambulance
present singular third person ambulances · participle present ambulancing · participle past ambulanced · past ambulanced
- transitiveTo transport by ambulance.
Ambulancing patients with acute obstruction over cobble and rails should not be tolerated; better render the necessary service where the patient is found.
1918, Western Surgical Association: Transactions, volume 27, page 66
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn emergency vehicle designed for transporting seriously ill or injured people to a hospital.
nounA vehicle used for the transportation of dead people, typically to a mortuary.
nounSynonym of stretcher, a litter used for medical transport.
nounSynonym of covered wagon.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts?
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂m̥bʰí
- Proto-Italic*amβi-
- Latinambi-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂elh₂-
- Proto-Italic*alō
- Latin*alō
- Latinambulō
- Latinambulān
- Frenchambulant
- Frenchambulance
- Englishambulance
Borrowed from French ambulance, which replaced hôpital ambulant (“moving hospital”) via the suffix -ance, from Latin ambulō (“to walk; to go about”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans ambulans
- ambulansemergency vehicle
Arabic سَيَّارَة إِسْعَاف
- سَيَّارَة إِسْعَاف (sayyārat ʔisʕāf)emergency vehicle
Basque anbulantzia
- anbulantziaemergency vehicle
Bengali অ্যাম্বুলেন্স
- অ্যাম্বুলেন্স (êmbulenśo)emergency vehicle
Bulgarian лине́йка, бъ́рза по́мощ
- лине́йка (linéjka)emergency vehicle
- бъ́рза по́мощ (bắrza pómošt)emergency vehicle
Catalan ambulància
- ambulànciaemergency vehicle
Chinese Cantonese 救傷車 /救伤车, 白車 /白车
- 救傷車 /救伤车 (gau³ soeng¹ ce¹)emergency vehicle
- 白車 /白车 (baak⁶ ce¹)emergency vehicle
- 救護車 /救护车 (gau³ wu⁶ ce¹)emergency vehicle
- 十字車 /十字车 (sap⁶ zi⁶ ce¹)emergency vehicle
Chinese Mandarin 救護車 /救护车, 救生車 /救生车
- 救護車 /救护车 (jiùhùchē)emergency vehicle
- 救生車 /救生车 (jiùshēngchē)emergency vehicle
Czech sanitka, ambulance
- sanitkaemergency vehicle
- ambulanceemergency vehicle
- sanitní vůzemergency vehicle
- sanitní vozidloemergency vehicle
- sanitaemergency vehicle
- záchrankaemergency vehicle
Danish ambulance
- ambulanceemergency vehicle
Dutch ziekenwagen, ambulance
- ziekenwagenemergency vehicle
- ambulanceemergency vehicle
- ziekenautoemergency vehicle
Esperanto ambulanco
- ambulancoemergency vehicle
Estonian kiirabi, kiirabiauto
- kiirabiemergency vehicle
- kiirabiautoemergency vehicle
Finnish ambulanssi, sairaankuljetusauto
- ambulanssiemergency vehicle
- sairaankuljetusautoemergency vehicle
- sairasautoemergency vehicle
- lanssiemergency vehicle
French ambulance
- ambulanceemergency vehicle
German Ambulanz, Krankenwagen
- Ambulanzemergency vehicle
- Krankenwagenemergency vehicle
- Notarztwagenemergency vehicle
- Rettungemergency vehicle
- Rettungsautoemergency vehicle
- Rettungswagenemergency vehicle
- Sanitätswagenemergency vehicle
- Sankaemergency vehicle
Greek ασθενοφόρο
- ασθενοφόρο (asthenofóro)emergency vehicle
Hebrew אַמְבּוּלַנְס
- אַמְבּוּלַנְס (ámbulans)emergency vehicle
Hindi एम्बुलेंस, रोगी-वाहन
- एम्बुलेंस (embulens)emergency vehicle
- रोगी-वाहन (rogī-vāhan)emergency vehicle
Hungarian mentőautó, mentő
- mentőautóemergency vehicle
- mentőemergency vehicle
- rohamkocsiemergency vehicle
Icelandic sjúkrabíll, sjúkrabifreið
- sjúkrabíllemergency vehicle
- sjúkrabifreiðemergency vehicle
Indonesian ambulans, mobil sakit
- ambulansemergency vehicle
- mobil sakitemergency vehicle
Irish otharcharr
- otharcharremergency vehicle
Italian ambulanza
- ambulanzaemergency vehicle
Japanese 救急車
- 救急車 (kyūkyūsha)emergency vehicle
Korean 앰뷸런스, 구급차
- 앰뷸런스 (aembyulleonseu)emergency vehicle
- 구급차 (gugeupcha)emergency vehicle
Latin arcera
- arceraemergency vehicle
Latvian ātrās palīdzības mašīna, ātrā palīdzība
- ātrās palīdzības mašīnaemergency vehicle
- ātrā palīdzībaemergency vehicle
Lithuanian greitosios pagalbos automobilis, greitoji
- greitosios pagalbos automobilisemergency vehicle
- greitojiemergency vehicle
Malay ambulans, kereta sakit
- ambulansemergency vehicle
- kereta sakitemergency vehicle
Māori waka tūroro
- waka tūroroemergency vehicle
Norwegian Bokmål ambulanse, sykebil
- ambulanseemergency vehicle
- sykebilemergency vehicle
- sjukebilemergency vehicle
Polish ambulans, karetka
- ambulansemergency vehicle
- karetkaemergency vehicle
Portuguese ambulância
- ambulânciaemergency vehicle
Romanian ambulanță
- ambulanțăemergency vehicle
Russian автомоби́ль ско́рой по́мощи, ско́рая по́мощь
- автомоби́ль ско́рой по́мощи (avtomobílʹ skóroj pómošči)emergency vehicle
- ско́рая по́мощь (skóraja pómoščʹ)emergency vehicle
- каре́та ско́рой по́мощи (karéta skóroj pómošči)emergency vehicle
- санита́рная маши́на (sanitárnaja mašína)emergency vehicle
- неотло́жка (neotlóžka)emergency vehicle
- ско́рая (skóraja)emergency vehicle
- каре́та (karéta)emergency vehicle
Scottish Gaelic carbad-eiridinn, ambaileans
- carbad-eiridinnemergency vehicle
- ambaileansemergency vehicle
Slovak sanitka, sanitné vozidlo
- sanitkaemergency vehicle
- sanitné vozidloemergency vehicle
- ambulanciaemergency vehicle
- sanitaemergency vehicle
Spanish ambulancia
- ambulanciaemergency vehicle
Swahili ambyulensi, ambulensi
- ambyulensiemergency vehicle
- ambulensiemergency vehicle
Swedish ambulans
- ambulansemergency vehicle
Tagalog ambulansiya
- ambulansiyaemergency vehicle
Tamil நோயாளர் ஊர்தி, ஆம்புலன்ஸ்
- நோயாளர் ஊர்தி (nōyāḷar ūrti)emergency vehicle
- ஆம்புலன்ஸ் (āmpulaṉs)emergency vehicle
Thai รถพยาบาล
- รถพยาบาล (rót-pá-yaa-baan)emergency vehicle
Turkish ambülans, cankurtaran
- ambülansemergency vehicle
- cankurtaranemergency vehicle
Ukrainian швидка́ допомо́га, швидка́
- швидка́ допомо́га (švydká dopomóha)emergency vehicle
- швидка́ (švydká)emergency vehicle
Urdu اَیمْبُولینْس, بِیمار گاڑی
- اَیمْبُولینْس (aimbūlens)emergency vehicle
- بِیمار گاڑی (bīmār gāṛī)emergency vehicle
- طِبی اِمْدادی گاڑی (tibī imdādī gāṛī)emergency vehicle
Vietnamese xe cứu thương, xe cấp cứu
- xe cứu thươngemergency vehicle
- xe cấp cứuemergency vehicle
Welsh ambiwlans
- ambiwlansemergency vehicle
Yiddish אַמבולאַנס
- אַמבולאַנס (ambulans)emergency vehicle
Cite this entry
ambulance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ambulance
“ambulance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ambulance. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ambulance,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ambulance.
Source: ambulance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.