Meaning & use
carpools
Last updated
“carpools” is a form of “carpool”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountable
Arrangements in which several people who travel the same way share one vehicle, often taking turns to drive.
Grammar: Plural of carpool; use a number or 'the': two carpools, the school carpools.
Patterns
- join a carpool
- a carpool to somewhere
Three carpools leave our street each morning for the elementary school.
The company set up carpools to cut down on parking problems.
Her neighbors run separate carpools for soccer practice and music lessons.
verbintransitive
Travels regularly with other people in one car so that the cost and driving are shared.
Grammar: No object here: she carpools; often followed by with or to.
Patterns
- carpool with someone
- carpool to somewhere
My brother carpools with two colleagues who live nearby.
Parents on our block carpools to the swimming pool every Saturday, taking turns.
Several students carpool to campus to save on gas.
Word forms
| singular | carpool |
|---|---|
| third person singular | carpools |
| past tense | carpooled |
| -ing form | carpooling |
Common combinations
- organize carpools
- The school organizes carpools for the field trip.
- school carpools
- School carpools get messy when someone is sick.
- commuter carpools
- Commuter carpools can use the fast lane on that highway.
- form carpools
- Workers formed carpools after the bus route was cut.
- rotate carpools
- We rotate carpools so nobody drives every day.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ride-sharing
- Ride-sharing is the wider term and often means paid app services, whereas a carpool is usually a regular unpaid arrangement among acquaintances.
- car share
- A car share usually means several people using one car at different times, not riding in it together.
- lift club
- Lift club is a British and South African phrase for the same idea and sounds more informal.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: carpools or motor pool?
carpools vs motor pool
A motor pool is a group of vehicles owned by an organization and lent to staff, not a group of people sharing one car.
Practice
Our neighbors take turns driving, so the children go to school in one of the street's ___.
Choose one answer.
Carpools are shared-ride arrangements among a group. A motor pool is a fleet of vehicles, and a car park is where cars are left.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “carpools”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.