runabout

See also: run about

English

Etymology

Deverbal from run about.

Noun

runabout (plural runabouts)

1. Any of several small vehicles, especially a small motor car for use on short journeys.
   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 2, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad‎^[1]:

     The door being open, Stranleigh walked in unannounced. A two-seated runabout […] stood by the window, where it could be viewed by passers-by. Further down the room rested a chassis, […]

2. (dated) A motor car having a single row of seats.
3. (historical) A light, open, American horse-drawn vehicle with four large wheels.
4. (archaic) A gadabout or vagabond.
5. (science fiction) A small, relatively maneuverable spacecraft or shuttlecraft.

Related terms

• run-around
• runaround
• tourabout

 

French

Noun

runabout m (plural runabouts)

1. runabout (motor vehicle)

Further reading

• “runabout”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.