van
van Lexical Profile
van Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A medium-sized covered motor vehicle, typically without side windows in the rear, used for transporting goods or groups of passengers.
"The delivery driver parked the white van outside the warehouse to unload the boxes."
British A covered railway carriage or car used for carrying luggage, mail, or livestock.
"The porter loaded the heavy trunks into the luggage van at the rear of the train."
The foremost division of an advancing military force, or the leading position in a movement, field, or trend; the vanguard.
"Their research team has been in the van of medical innovation for over a decade."
A historic city and province in eastern Turkey located on the eastern shore of Lake Van, known for its ancient Urartian citadel.
• verb
To transport or convey goods, equipment, or animals in a van.
"The thoroughbred horses were vanned to the racetrack early in the morning."
• Rhymes for van
Word Origin & Etymology
In its vehicle sense, the word arose in the early 19th century as a shortened form of 'caravan' (meaning a covered wagon). In its sense meaning the forefront of a movement or army, it is a 17th-century shortening of 'vanguard', from Old French 'avant-garde'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.