Ambulance Meaning
/ˈæm.bjə.ləns/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn emergency vehicle designed for transporting seriously ill or injured people to a hospital.
nounA mobile field hospital.
Sentence Examples
Please send an ambulance.
Do you need an ambulance?
The ambulance broke down in the middle of the busy avenue.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the accident, a speeding ____ rushed the injured to the hospital.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ arrived quickly and took the injured man to the hospital.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from French ambulance, which replaced hôpital ambulant (“moving hospital”) via the suffix -ance, from Latin ambulō (“to walk; to go about”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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 Guardian:
"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:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the accident, a speeding ____ rushed the injured to the hospital.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ arrived quickly and took the injured man to the hospital.