Meaning & use
garage
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Meanings
nouncountable
A building or part of a building where you keep a car or other vehicle.
Grammar: Used with a/an or the, and it has a plural: a garage, the garage, two garages.
Patterns
- park in a garage
- put a car in the garage
- a two-car garage
We parked the car in the garage and went inside.
Their new house has a garage and a small garden.
The garage is full of boxes, so we can't fit the car in.
nouncountable
A place where cars are repaired and serviced.
Grammar: Often used with a name or owner: 'Miller's Garage'.
Patterns
- take a car to the garage
- the garage is fixing something
- a local garage
I took my car to the garage for an oil change.
The garage said the repairs would take two days.
She works at a garage that specializes in electric cars.
nouncountableBritish
A place where you buy fuel for your car; a gas station.
Grammar: This sense is common in British English; in American English, 'gas station' is usual.
Patterns
- stop at a garage
- fill up at the garage
We stopped at a garage to fill up with petrol.
The nearest garage is about five miles away.
He bought a map at the garage on the motorway.
Word forms
| plural | garages |
|---|
Common combinations
- park in a garage
- It's safer to park in a garage at night.
- take something to the garage
- I need to take the car to the garage tomorrow.
- a two-car garage
- Their house has a two-car garage.
- the garage door
- Please close the garage door when you leave.
- fill up at a garage
- We filled up at a garage before the long drive.
Synonyms and how they differ
- carport
- A carport has a roof but no walls, so it gives less protection than a garage.
- service station
- A service station is a place on a highway where you can buy fuel and food; it is more specific than a garage.
- workshop
- A workshop is a room or building where things are made or repaired, not specifically for cars.
Word family
- garage verb
- To put a vehicle in a garage.
Commonly confused: garage or garage sale?
garage vs garage sale
A garage sale is a sale of used goods held in someone's garage or yard, not a place to park or repair cars.
Practice
I need to take my car to the ___ because the brakes are making a noise.
Choose one answer.
A garage is a place where cars are repaired, so it fits the context of fixing brakes. The other options are rooms in a house, not places for car repairs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “garage”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.