taxi
taxi [taxi taxis] noun, verb [ˈtæksi] [ˈtæksi]
noun
1. (also cab, taxi·cab) a car with a driver that you pay to take you somewhere. Taxis usually have meters which show how much money you have to pay
• a taxi driver/ride
• We'd better take a taxi.
• I came home by taxi.
• to order/hail/call a taxi
2. in some places in Africa, a small bus with a driver that you pay to take you somewhere. Taxis usually have fixed routes and stop wherever passengers need to get on or off.
see also dala-dala, matatu
Word Origin:
early 20th cent.: abbreviation of taxi-cab or taximeter cab, from French taximètre, from taxe ‘tariff’, from the verb taxer ‘to tax’ + -mètre ‘(instrument) measuring’.
Example Bank:
• I prefer to travel by taxi.
• I took a taxi back home.
• I'll get my secretary to call you a taxi.
• We caught a taxi to the airport.
• We had some difficulty finding a taxi.
• We hired a taxi for the day and went all over the island.
• a five-minute trip by taxi
• a water taxi heading for Venice
verb (taxi·ing, tax·ied, tax·ied) intransitive (of a plane)
to move slowly along the ground before taking off or after landing
Word Origin:
early 20th cent.: abbreviation of taxi-cab or taximeter cab, from French taximètre, from taxe ‘tariff’, from the verb taxer ‘to tax’ + -mètre ‘(instrument) measuring’