# truck

Pronunciation: say "TRUK" /tɹʌk/

## Noun

1. A heavy motor vehicle designed to carry goods, or to pull a semi-trailer that carries goods. *(Australia, Canada, US)*
   - Simple: A large road vehicle used to carry goods or pull heavy loads.
   - _A flatbed truck hauled steel beams to the construction site._
   - _Long-haul trucks line up at the weigh station before crossing the state line._
2. A pickup or comparable light vehicle with an open load bed at the rear, commonly driven as someone's everyday vehicle. *(Canada, US)*
   - Simple: A pickup or similar light vehicle with an open back for carrying things, often driven as someone's own car.
   - _She traded in her sedan for a truck so she could haul her kayak on weekends._
   - _In many parts of the country, trucks now outsell ordinary passenger cars._
5. A small wagon or cart, typically pushed or pulled by hand, used to move and sometimes lift goods, such as luggage in hotels or books in libraries.
   - Simple: A small cart that you push or pull by hand to move heavy things.
   - _At the station, a porter piled our trunks onto a baggage truck and pushed it along the platform to the train._
   - _The librarian pushed a truck of returned books down the aisle._
6. A steering assembly connecting the wheels to a skateboard's deck or a roller skate's mounting plate, typically including an axle, hanger, kingpin, and bushings.
   - Simple: The part of a skateboard or roller skate that connects the wheels to the board or boot and allows turning.
   - _She swapped out her trucks for a wider pair to improve stability._
   - _A bent truck can make the board pull to one side._
7. Abbreviation of railroad truck or wheel truck. *(US)* — Abbreviation of railroad truck or wheel truck; a pivoting frame, one attached to the bottom of the bed of a railway car at each end, that rests on the axle and which swivels to allow the axle (at each end of which is a solid wheel) to turn with curves in the track.
   - Simple: Abbreviation of railroad truck or wheel truck. It is the wheeled frame under each end of a train car.
   - _Inspectors found a cracked spring in the lead truck of the passenger car._
   - _Each truck pivots beneath the car body to follow curves in the track._
8. Garden produce raised for sale at market; vegetables and other groceries. *(US)*
   - Simple: Vegetables and other fresh food grown to be sold.
   - _Each morning, farmers hauled wagonloads of fresh truck into town to sell._
   - _The valley's sandy soil produced excellent truck for the city markets._
9. Dealings, contact, or involvement with someone or something, now mostly in the phrase "have no truck with".
   - Simple: Dealings, contact, or involvement with someone or something.
   - _The new manager wanted no truck with the old ways of doing business._
   - _My grandmother would have no truck with gossip, and she told her neighbors so plainly._
12. A railroad car, mainly one built for carrying freight rather than passengers. *(UK)*
   - Simple: A train car used for carrying goods.
   - _The derailed truck spilled gravel across both lines._
   - _Each truck in the freight train carried twenty tons of ore._
13. A platform mounted on wheels or casters, especially one used to move scenery on a stage.
   - Simple: A flat platform on wheels, especially one used to move scenery on a stage.
   - _The whole kitchen set sat on a truck that glided into place during the blackout._
   - _Crew members locked the truck's casters once the set piece hit its mark._
18. The practice of paying workers in goods, or in tokens redeemable only at a shop owned by the employer.
   - Simple: An old way of paying workers with goods, or with tokens that only worked at the boss's store.
   - _Factory owners profited twice from truck, once on labor and again at the company store._
   - _Reformers campaigned for decades to abolish truck in the mining districts._
19. Relevance or bearing; connection to the matter at hand.
   - Simple: A real connection to the subject being talked about.
22. Dirt or any other kind of mess.
   - Simple: Dirt or mess, such as mud or scattered trash.

## Verb

3. To transport goods or materials by truck.
   - Simple: To move goods from one place to another using a truck.
   - _Crews trucked gravel to the site for three days straight._
   - _Suppliers truck fresh produce into the city before dawn each day._
4. To drive a truck, especially as an occupation.
   - Simple: To drive a truck, often as a job.
   - _After the layoffs, he trucked for a regional carrier until retirement._
   - _Plenty of drivers truck through the night to meet delivery deadlines._
10. To travel, move along, or proceed. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: To go, move along, or travel.
   - _The old van trucked down the highway at a steady fifty-five._
   - _After lunch we'll truck over to the festival grounds._
11. To persist or endure; to keep going. *(slang, Canada, US)*
   - Simple: To keep going and not give up, even when things are hard.
   - _Through two recessions, the little diner just kept trucking._
   - _Despite every setback, we truck on and finish what we start._
14. In American football, to run over or through a defender attempting a tackle. *(slang)*
   - Simple: In football, to run straight into a player who is trying to stop you and knock them down.
   - _On fourth and goal, the fullback trucked two defenders at the line._
   - _Power backs truck tacklers; shifty backs make them miss._
15. To move a camera laterally, often traveling parallel to a moving subject being filmed.
   - Simple: To move a camera sideways, often to follow a moving subject.
   - _The camera trucks with the detective as he paces the corridor._
   - _For the parade sequence, they decided to truck alongside the marching band._
16. To trade or exchange goods, especially by bartering one thing for another.
   - Simple: To trade things, especially by swapping one thing for another instead of paying money.
17. To get into a fight with someone or otherwise get physical with them. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To fight or struggle with someone physically.
20. To deal or keep company with someone, usually followed by "with"; to associate or engage with another person or group.
   - Simple: To deal with or spend time with a person or group.
   - _Respectable families would not truck with smugglers, at least not openly._
   - _He refused to truck with anyone who had taken his brother's side in the long family feud._

## Noun

21. Small or humble items; miscellaneous things, often offered for sale or barter. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Small, simple things, often kept for sale or trade.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A circular disc of wood at or near the top of a wooden mast, fitted with holes or sheaves for running signal halyards, and sometimes used as a temporary lookout spot.
- (noun) The ball fixed at the top of a flagpole.
- (noun) A gun carriage's wheel, or any other small wheel or roller.
- (verb) To fail or run short; to become unavailable, diminish, or abate.
- (verb) To give in or give way; to knuckle under or submit.
- (verb) To act deceitfully; to cheat or defraud.
- (verb) To tread or stamp down; to trample something underfoot.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–7, 10–15, 17, 22** — Possibly clipped from "truckle," a word tied to Latin "trochus" ("iron hoop, wheel"), which Latin itself took from Ancient Greek "trokhós."
**Meanings 8–9, 16, 18–21** — From Middle English "trukien," through unrecorded Old French words, from Latin "trocāre," which probably comes from Frankish.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/truck (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).