Meanings
nounwhite van man (plural white van men)
plural white van men
- UKinformalA stereotypical tradesman or handyman who drives a white van, especially one who drives carelessly.
At the same time, the unregulated 'white van man' with low overheads has found a niche that no large company can possibly compete with.
2024 July 24, “Comment: Can Labour allow rail mail to fail?”, in RAIL, number 1014, page 3
Origin
White is a standard colour for vans.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
white van man. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/white%20van%20man
MLA
“white van man.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/white%20van%20man. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “white van man,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/white%20van%20man.
Source: white van man on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.