sidecar

S1I1D2E1C3A1R1
/ˈsaɪdkɑɹ/

noun

A one-wheeled attachment to the side of a motorcycle to allow for a separate seat for a passenger or cargo space.

UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

nounsidecar (plural sidecars)

plural sidecars

  1. A one-wheeled attachment to the side of a motorcycle to allow for a separate seat for a passenger or cargo space.
  2. A cocktail made with cognac (or brandy), triple sec liqueur, and lemon juice.

    Faux 19th-century bartenders in sleeve garters and baroque facial hair ply their trade in pre-Prohibition bars. Women wearing cloche hats order sidecars at speakeasies.

    2011 October 3, Wayne Curtis, “From Tiki to Tacky—and Back”, in The Atlantic
  3. computingA software component that runs in a separate process from the rest of the software, to provide isolation and encapsulation.

    Using generic sidecars for multiple microservices may introduce functionality overhead.

    Ali Heydarimoghaddam, Microservices Design Patterns (page 83)

Origin

From side + car.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan sidecar
  • sidecarone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Chinese Mandarin 邊車 /边车
  • 邊車 /边车 (biānchē)one-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Czech sajdkár, sajdkára
  • sajdkárone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • sajdkáraone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Dutch zijspan, zijspanwagen
  • zijspanone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • zijspanwagenone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Esperanto flankĉaro
  • flankĉaroone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Finnish sivuvaunu, lulla
  • sivuvaunuone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • lullaone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • akantappajaone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • akantappokoneone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • sidecarcocktail
French side-car, nacelle latérale
  • side-carone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • nacelle latéraleone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
German Beiwagen, Seitenwagen
  • Beiwagenone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • Seitenwagenone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Hungarian oldalkocsi
  • oldalkocsione-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Irish carr cliathánach
  • carr cliathánachone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Italian sidecar, carrozzetta
  • sidecarone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • carrozzettaone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • carrozzellaone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • carrozzinoone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Japanese サイドカー, サイドカー
  • サイドカー (saidokā)one-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • サイドカー (saidokā)cocktail
Korean 사이드카, 사이드카
  • 사이드카 (saideuka)one-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • 사이드카 (saideuka)cocktail
Portuguese side-car
  • side-carone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Russian коля́ска, лю́лька
  • коля́ска (koljáska)one-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • лю́лька (ljúlʹka)one-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Spanish sidecar
  • sidecarone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Swedish sidovagn, sidvagn
  • sidovagnone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • sidvagnone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Turkish yolcu sepeti
  • yolcu sepetione-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Ukrainian коля́ска, лю́лька
  • коля́ска (koljáska)one-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • лю́лька (ljúlʹka)one-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
Welsh ystlysgar, seicar
  • ystlysgarone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle
  • seicarone-wheeled attachment to a motorcycle

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

carside
Cite this entry
APA

sidecar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sidecar

MLA

“sidecar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sidecar. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sidecar,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sidecar.

Source: sidecar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.