Meaning & use
sedan
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableAmerican
A car with a fixed roof, four doors, and a separate closed area for luggage at the back, usually seating four or five people.
Grammar: Countable: a sedan, two sedans. In British English the same body style is called a saloon.
Patterns
- drive a sedan
- a four-door sedan
- park the sedan
They rented a sedan for the drive along the coast.
Her new sedan has a surprisingly large trunk.
Most families in the suburbs own at least one sedan.
nouncountableold-fashioned
A covered chair carried on poles by two people, used in the past to transport one seated passenger.
Grammar: Countable and historical: a sedan, several sedans. Now found mainly in descriptions of the past.
Patterns
- travel by sedan
- a sedan chair
In the eighteenth century, wealthy travelers moved through narrow streets in a sedan chair.
The museum displays a sedan once used by a local merchant.
Word forms
| plural | sedans |
|---|
Common combinations
- four-door sedan
- A four-door sedan is practical for families with children.
- compact sedan
- She prefers a compact sedan because it is easy to park.
- luxury sedan
- The hotel sent a luxury sedan to pick up the guests.
- sedan chair
- A sedan chair required two strong carriers.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: sedan or satan?
sedan vs satan
These can sound similar in fast speech, but 'Satan' is a proper name for the devil, while 'sedan' is a kind of car.
Practice
In British English, what is the usual word for a car that Americans call a sedan?
Choose one answer.
British English uses 'saloon' for a car with a separate trunk and four doors. 'Estate' is the British word for a station wagon, 'hatchback' has a rear door that lifts, and 'coupe' usually has two doors.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sedan”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.