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Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

van

/væn/

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What does van mean?

noun

  1. A covered motor vehicle used to carry goods or (normally less than ten) persons, usually roughly cuboid in shape, Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and longer and higher than a car but relatively smaller than a truck/lorry or a bus.
  2. An enclosed railway vehicle for transport of goods, such as a boxcar/box van.
  3. A large towable vehicle equipped for the repair of structures that cannot easily be moved.
More meanings (25)

verb

  1. To transport in a van or similar vehicle (especially of horses).
  2. Of law enforcement: to arrest (not necessarily in a van; derived from party van).
  3. To wash or cleanse, as a small portion of ore, on a shovel.

noun

  1. Clipping of vanguard.
  2. A shovel used in cleansing ore.
  3. A fan or other contrivance, such as a sieve, for winnowing grain.
  4. A wing with which the air is beaten.
  5. A Van cat.
  6. A Turkish Van cat.
  7. Abbreviation of value-added network.
  8. (dated) A light wagon, either covered or open, used by tradesmen and others for the transportation of goods.

proper noun

  1. An unincorporated community in Arkansas County, Arkansas.
  2. An unincorporated community in Polk County, Missouri.
  3. An unincorporated community in Harney County, Oregon.
  4. A city in Van Zandt County, Texas.
  5. An unincorporated community in Lee County, Virginia.
  6. A census-designated place in Boone County, West Virginia.
  7. A community and suburb of Caerphilly in Caerphilly borough (OS grid ref ST1686).
  8. A hamlet in Llanidloes Without community, Powys (OS grid ref SN9587).
  9. A diminutive of the female given name Vanessa.
  10. A diminutive of the male given names Vance, Ivan, and Evan.
  11. A large saline tectonic lake of the Armenian Highland in eastern Turkey, famous for its Chalcalburnus tarichi (syn. Alburnus tarichi) fish and the 10th century Armenian cathedral on Akhtamar Island.
  12. A province and metropolitan municipality in easternmost Turkey, partly surrounding the lake, with a Kurdish majority.
  13. A city, the capital of Van Province, Turkey, on the shore of the lake.
  14. Abbreviation of Vancouver.
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Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/væn/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Possibly these two might not have spoken again till their parting, had it not been for the reddleman’s visits to his van.
Thomas HardyThe Return of the NativeProject Gutenberg ebook #122
I shall not even feel the change, for last night Dr. Van Helsing slept in his chair a lot of the time.
Bram StokerDraculaProject Gutenberg ebook #345
More book examples (3)
In old time the great blonde beasts rode in the battle’s van and won their spurs by cleaving men from pate to chine.
Jack LondonThe People of the AbyssProject Gutenberg ebook #1688
Though full of fanciful ideas, Van Helmont had the experimental spirit and was the first chemist to discover the diversity of gases.
William, Sir OslerThe Evolution of Modern Medicine A Series of Lectures Delivered at Yale University on the Silliman Foundation in April, 1913Project Gutenberg ebook #1566
When traveling he finds the greatest difficulty in entering an ordinary railway carriage, and as a rule contents himself in the luggage van.
George M. (George Milbrey) Gould; Walter L. (Walter Lytle) PyleAnomalies and Curiosities of MedicineProject Gutenberg ebook #747