A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or people.
In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs (such as pick-up trucks). There are vans in all shapes and sizes, ranging from the classic van version of the tiny Mini to much larger vehicles such as the Mercedes Sprinter, Ford E-Series, and Nissan commercial vehicles. Vans run up to about 4 tons and are classified as Light Duty Trucks (North America) or Light Commercial Vehicles (Europe). Similar larger vehicles are lorries (full sized trucks), and are not known as vans.
Read more about Van: Word Usage and Etymology, Examples, Usage
Famous quotes containing the word van:
“Not only is this the greatest adventure awaiting mankind, but it’s the greatest challenge ever hurled at American industry.”
—Rip Van Ronkel, and Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988)
“This is The End—of the Beginning.”
—Rip Van Ronkel, and Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988)
“His reversed body gracefully curved, his brown legs hoisted like a Tarentine sail, his joined ankles tacking, Van gripped with splayed hands the brow of gravity, and moved to and fro, veering and sidestepping, opening his mouth the wrong way, and blinking in the odd bilboquet fashion peculiar to eyelids in his abnormal position. Even more extraordinary than the variety and velocity of the movements he made in imitation of animal hind legs was the effortlessness of his stance.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)