accelerator

* First attested in 1611.
* (motor vehicle): First attested in 1900.
* accelerate + -or

a pedal used to control a vehicle's speed

a device that speeds up computer processing

a key which a user can press to activate a menu

(chemistry) A substance which speeds up chemical reactions.

կատալիզատոր

As soon as you get onto the slipway, push the accelerator.

(vehicles) A pedal causing the vehicle to accelerate when it is pressed.

particle accelerator
particle accelerator

(physics) A device that accelerates charged subatomic particles; a particle accelerator.

加速器

physics: device that accelerates charged particles — see also particle accelerator

If they had allowed single-character accelerators, Windows wouldn't be able to determine whether the character was input or a shortcut.

2002, Davis Howard Chapman, Sams Teach Yourself Visual C++ .NET in 21 Days, page 187:


deuce

From Middle English dewes (“two”), from Anglo-Norman, from Old French deus, from Latin duo. The word was used by Ford to describe a model of car they made in 1932 due to it being a two-seater.

Bisexual male, 28, doing a deuce in a segregated housing unit due to positive HIV test result, seeks correspondence from both genders.

1988 December 25, Eric Peterson, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 24, page 14:

(Canada, slang) A two-year prison sentence.

The number two.
A two-year prison sentence.


bull bar

2003 October, Cliff Gromer (article editor), GreatStuff, Popular Mechanics, page 120,
Bull bars give your SUV a macho look, as well as add protection and versatility. ARB's bull bars for the Jeep Liberty offer all of the above, with added features that include Hi-Lift jacking points, auxiliary driving-light mounts, a provision for relocating the factory foglights and accommodation for Warn winches.

I got the job of buying the after-market products, such as the bull bar and tow bar, so Ruth and I set out for ARB, the 4X4 shop at Caboolture.

2010, Gary Hatcher, You Probably Have Parkinson Disease, page 129:

Front protection bars, known as bull bars, brush bars, roo bars, and even nerf or nudge bars are probably the most contentious piece of equipment that can be fitted to a car. In some countries they are banned outright.[…]In some countries where risk of damage is very high, bull bars are considered essential safety equipment.

2011, Ralph Hosier, Land Rover Discovery, Defender & Range Rover: How to Modify for High Performance & Serious Off-Road Action, page 61:

(chiefly Australia, New Zealand) A welded framework of metal bars at a vehicle's front, designed to protect it during collisions with animals, but often purchased as a fashion accessory.

bosbreker

a device fitted to the front of a vehicle

kangaroo bar

protective framework at front of a vehicle


boot

Solombala English: бучь (bučʹ)

→ Russian: бутса (butsa)

→ Serbo-Croatian:

Cyrillic script: бу́це

Latin script: búce

→ Swahili: buti

From Middle English boote, bote (“shoe”), from Old French bote (“a high, thick shoe”). Of obscure origin, but probably related to Old French bot (“club-foot”), bot (“fat, short, blunt”), from Old Frankish *butt, from Proto-Germanic *buttaz, *butaz (“cut off, short, numb, blunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewt-, *bʰewd- (“to strike, push, shock”); if so, a doublet of butt. Compare Old Norse butt (“stump”), Low German butt (“blunt, plump”), Old English bytt (“small piece of land”), buttuc (“end”). More at buttock and debut.

cog

couldn't pour water out of a boot with the instructions on the heel

(US, transport) A parking enforcement device used to immobilize a car until it can be towed or a fine is paid; a wheel clamp.

Because of overcrowding, many a CB enthusiast (called an "apple") is strapping an illegal linear amplifier ("boots") on to his transceiver ("ears") […]

1977, New Scientist, volume 74, page 764:

(slang) A linear amplifier used with CB radio.


crankshaft

en-verb

crankshaft (third-person singular simple present crankshafts, present participle crankshafting, simple past and past participle crankshafted)

crankshafts (present singular third-person)
crankshafting (participle present)
crankshafted (participle past)
crankshafted (past)

The attachment of the inboard end of the gear beam was damaged but remained intact; the drag strut fuse pin had 'crankshafted' in a direction indicating that a load had been applied in tension but this had also remained intact.

2010 February 9, Air Accidents Investigation Branch, “1.12.3.3 Landing gear examination”, in Report on the accident to Boeing 777-236ER, G-YMMM, at London Heathrow Airport on 17 January 2008, archived from the original on 2022-06-16, page 44:

(of a straight bolt or rod) To deform in such a manner that part of the rod or bolt is displaced sideways, offset from the longitudinal axis of the part, but remains parallel with the part's main longitudinal axis, with the final shape somewhat resembling a crankshaft.


exhaust

→ Gulf Arabic: اقزوز (igzōz)

→ Hebrew: אֶגְזוֹז (egzóz)

→ Persian: اگزوز

→ Turkish: egzoz

From Latin exhaustus, past participle of exhaurīre (“to draw out, drink up, empty, exhaust”), from ex (“out”) + haurīre (“to draw (especially water), drain”).

An exhaust pipe, especially on a motor vehicle.


clutch

From Middle English clucchen, clicchen, cluchen, clechen, cleken, from Old English clyċċan (“to clutch, clench”), from Proto-West Germanic *klukkjan, from Proto-Germanic *klukjaną, from Proto-Germanic *klu- (“to ball up, conglomerate, amass”), from Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to ball up; lump, mass”).
Cognate with Swedish klyka (“clamp, fork, branch”). The noun is from Middle English cleche, cloche, cloke ("claw, talon, hand"; compare Scots cleuk, cluke, cluik (“claw, talon”)), of uncertain origin, with the form probably assimilated to the verb.
Alternative etymology derives Old English clyċċan from Proto-Germanic *klēk- (“claw, hand”), from Proto-Indo-European *glēk-, *ǵlēḱ- (“claw, hand; to clutch, snatch”). If so, then cognate with Irish glac (“hand”).

gloss

The pedal in a car that disengages power and torque transmission from the engine (through the drivetrain) to the drive wheels.

enbrage

The pedal in a car that disengages power transmission

cloche

Caribbean Islands, Colombian Atlantic Coast

Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle.


clutch

en-adj

clutch (comparative more clutch, superlative most clutch)

more clutch (comparative)
most clutch (superlative)

NC State made the most of their overtime possession scoring a touchdown on some very clutch plays.

2006, Bryan Hogan, Three Days for Goodbye, page 19:

I start with his most obvious characteristic: he was clutch. He is Mr. Clutch. In the last chapter I mentioned that Bernie Williams was clutch, which was a valid assessment, but nobody on the Yankees was as clutch as Jeter was.

2009, Scott Trocchia, The 2006 Yankees: The Frustration of a Nation, A Fan's Perspective, page 21:

It doesn't get more clutch than that!

2009, Mark Stewart, Clutch Performers, →ISBN, page 34:

(US, Canada) Performing or tending to perform well in difficult, high-pressure situations.


tire

→ Kashubian: tajra (Canada)

Believed from Middle English tire (“equipment”) aphetic form of attire; see details at tyre. See also German zieren (“to decorate”).

the tire of war


tyre

→ Chamorro: taia'

→ Japanese: タイヤ (taiya)

→ Korean: 타이어 (taieo)

→ Malay: tayar

→ Welsh: teiar

The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the word derives from attire, while other sources suggest a connection with the verb to tie. George Sturt in The Wheelwright's Shop (1923) makes a case for the latter derivation in that the metal tyre ('tyer') pulled the wooden wagon wheel tightly together when it shrank after being fitted red-hot. The spelling tyre is used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and most current and former Commonwealth nations after being revived in the 19th century. Both tyre and tire were used in the 15th and 16th centuries. The United States and Canada did not adopt the revival of tyre, and tire is the only spelling currently used there.

neumático

especially Chile and Spain - formal usage in other countries

pneumatic tyres

runflat tyres

The ring-shaped protective covering around a wheel which is usually made of rubber or plastic composite and is either pneumatic or solid.

Coordinate term: strakes

iron tyres for the coach and iron shoes for the horse

tyres and rails of steel, and every axle with roller bearings

It is also curious that whereas brake-blocks made of certain compositions (other than cast iron) offer improved coefficients of friction, their use can reduce adhesion, and thereby increase the liability to skid (doubtless by tending to polish the tyres) by as much as 20 per cent.

1960 April, “The braking of trains”, in Trains Illustrated, page 237:

The metal rim, or metal covering on a rim, of a (wooden or metal) wheel, usually of steel or formerly wrought iron, as found on (horse-drawn or railway) carriages and wagons and on locomotives.


trunk

From Middle English tronke, trunke, from Old French tronc (“alms box, tree trunk, headless body”), from Latin truncus (“a stock, lopped tree trunk”), from truncus (“cut off, maimed, mutilated”). For the verb, compare French tronquer, and see truncate. Doublet of truncus and tronk.

der

the apple does not fall far from the trunk

I'm a stunt; ride in the car with some bump in the trunk.

2005, “Stay Fly”, in Jordan Houston, Darnell Carlton, Paul Beauregard, Premro Smith, Marlon Goodwin, David Brown, Willie Hutchinson (lyrics), Most Known Unknown, performed by Three 6 Mafia (featuring Young Buck, 8 Ball, and MJG), Sony BMG:

(Canada, US, automotive) The luggage storage compartment of a sedan/saloon-style car.

bak

luggage storage compartment of a sedan/saloon style car

(automotive) A storage compartment fitted behind the seat of a motorcycle.

(transport) A main line in a river, canal, railroad, or highway system.


horn

en-noun

horn (countable and uncountable, plural horns)

From Middle English horn, horne, from Old English horn, from Proto-West Germanic *horn, from Proto-Germanic *hurną. Compare West Frisian hoarn, Dutch hoorn, Low German Hoorn, horn, German Horn, Danish and Swedish horn, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽 (haurn).
Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂-nó-m, from *ḱerh₂- (“head, horn”). Compare Breton kern (“horn”), Latin cornū, Ancient Greek κέρας (kéras), Proto-Slavic *sьrna, Old Church Slavonic сьрна (sĭrna, “roedeer”), Hittite [script needed] (surna, “horn”), Persian سر (sar), Sanskrit शृङ्ग (śṛṅga, “horn”).
(telephone): From the horn-shaped earpieces of old communication systems that used air tubes.

cog

(countable, automotive) A loud alarm, especially one on a motor vehicle.

toeter

loud alarm, especially on a motor vehicle


hooter

Suddenly, far down and beyond the toun there came a screech as the morning grew, a screech like an hungered beast in pain. The hooters were blowing in the Segget Mills.

1933, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Cloud Howe, page 34:

When the right-away was given, Driver Gibson would give a sonorous blast on Cardean's deep-toned hooter, and amid a flurry of swirling steam the train would move majestically out, with nearly half the city of Carlisle—or so it would appear—as onlookers on the platform.

1945 May and June, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 152:

A chime whistle, presented to the L.M.S.R. by American model railway enthusiasts in 1939, is installed now as a works hooter at Crewe Works, as its height precludes its use on a British locomotive.

1946 September and October, “Notes and News: Locomotive Whistle Gift”, in Railway Magazine, page 322:

(British) A siren or steam whistle, especially one in a factory and used to indicate the beginning or the end of a working day or shift.


odometer

/oʊˈdɑːmətɚ/

From French odomètre, from Ancient Greek ὁδός (hodós, “road, path, way”) + μέτρον (métron, “measure”) (equivalent to + -meter).

uder

A wheel used by surveyors, which registers distance traveled.


cowl

en-verb

cowl (third-person singular simple present cowls, present participle cowling, simple past and past participle cowled)

cowls (present singular third-person)
cowling (participle present)
cowled (participle past)
cowled (past)

From Middle English coule, from Old English cūle, from earlier cugele (“hood, cowl”), from Ecclesiastical Latin cuculla (“monk's cowl”), from Latin cucullus (“hood”), of uncertain origin. Doublet of cagoule.

der

COWL, scrape together. "Cowlin t'cinders up."

1865, William Stott Banks, Wakefield Words, page 17:


hood

From Middle English hood, hod, from Old English hōd, from Proto-Germanic *hōdaz (cognate with Saterland Frisian Houd, West Frisian/Dutch hoed, German Low German Hood, German Hut). Cognate with Proto-Iranian *xawdaH (“hat”) (compare Avestan 𐬑𐬂𐬛𐬀 (xåda), Old Persian 𐎧𐎢𐎭 (x-u-d /xaudā/)), from Proto-Indo-European *kadʰ- (“to cover”). More at hat.

kapuç

covering for the head attached to a larger garment such as a jacket or cloak

(automotive, chiefly US, Canada) The hinged cover over the engine of a motor vehicle, known as a bonnet in other countries.


bumper

Dutch: bumper

Japanese: バンパー (banpā)

Korean: 범퍼 (beompeo)

Russian: ба́мпер (bámper)

(automotive) Parts at the front and back of a vehicle which are meant to absorb the impact of a collision; fender.


spoiler

→ Catalan: espòiler

→ Czech: spoiler

→ French: spoiler

→ Georgian: სპოილერი (sṗoileri)

→ German: Spoiler

→ Italian: spoiler

→ Polish: spoiler

→ Portuguese: spoiler

→ Russian: спо́йлер (spójler)

→ Spanish: spoiler

→ Turkish: spoiler

→ Ukrainian: спо́йлер (spójler)

спо́йлер

automobiles: device to reduce lift and increase downforce

(automotive) A device to reduce lift and increase downforce.


windscreen wiper

en-noun

windscreen wiper (plural windscreen wipers)

(automobiles, British, Australia, New Zealand) A device used to clear rain and dirt from a windscreen; normally a pivoting arm with a rubber blade; a windshield wiper.


choke

From Middle English choken (also cheken), from earlier acheken, from Old English āċēocian (“to choke”), probably derived from Old English ċēoce, ċēace (“jaw, cheek”), see cheek. Cognate with Icelandic kok (“throat”), koka (“to gulp”). See also achoke.


windscreen

Oh no! A vandal has just smashed our windscreen! Susan, can you go and call the insurance company?

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A transparent screen made of glass, located at the front of a vehicle in order to protect its occupants from the wind and weather.

(military) A lightweight aerodynamic fairing mounted on the nose of an armor-piercing shell to reduce drag and increase range.

As well as demonstrating operating facilities, full-size car body models are used for experimenting with new types of interior finish, systems of lighting, positioning of route diagrams and advertisements, and the best form of windscreens at doorways, and the height and location of handgrips and handrails.

1951 October, “Models Assist Rolling Stock Design”, in Railway Magazine, page 647:

A draught screen at the side of a passenger train doorway.


windshield wiper

windshield wiper (plural windshield wipers)

Using her hands like windshield wipers, she tried to flick snow away from her mouth. When she clawed at her chest and neck, the crumbs maddeningly slid back onto her face. She grew claustrophobic.

2012, John Branch, “Snow Fall : The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in New York Time:

(automobiles, US, Canada) a device used to clear rain and dirt from a windshield; normally a pivoting arm with a rubber blade


windshield

The freezing rain covered our windshield with ice and we couldn't see a thing.

(Canada, US, Philippines) A transparent screen made of glass, located at the front and back of a vehicle in front of its occupants to protect them from the wind force generated by the vehicle's speed and inclement weather.

bitaʼ

screen located in front of a vehicle to protect from wind and weather


undercarriage

/ˈʌndɚˌkɛɹɪd͡ʒ/

/ˈʌndəˌkæɹɪd͡ʒ/


dashboard

/ˈdæʃˌbɔː(ɹ)d/

/ˈdæʃˌboəɹd/

/ˈdæʃˌbɔːɹd/

From dash (“to sprinkle; to splatter”) + board for meaning 1. Possibly expanded meaning later.


shock absorber

Hydraulic shock absorbers are used to damp out vertical and lateral oscillations.

1960 February, “The first of London's new Piccadilly Line trains is delivered”, in Trains Illustrated, page 93:

mechanical engineering
mechanical engineering

(mechanical engineering) A mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp any sudden shock impulse and dissipate kinetic energy; usually consists of a combination of a spring and a dashpot.


radiator

→ Gulf Arabic: راديتر (rādētar)

/ˈrædɪeɪ̯tə/

From radiate + -or. Doublet of radiatori.

(automotive) A device that lowers engine coolant temperature by conducting heat to the air, through metal fins.


wheelhouse

From wheel + house. Sense 3 (“(baseball) a pitch location which is favourable to the hitter”) references the fact that a vessel is controlled from its wheelhouse (sense 1.2), and sense 4 (“a person’s area of authority or expertise”) is a figurative use of sense 3.

This invention relates to an improved device for hanging the body of carriages having a so-called "cut-under" or wheel-house, such as a common rockaway, extension-top phaeton, coupé-rockaway, &c., [...]

1878 June 13, Edwin R. Wheeler, Improvement in Vehicle-spring Braces, US Patent 205,594, column 1:

To install a new outer wheelhouse in a convertible, measure (at 1-in. intervals) the distance from the reinforcement that runs along the top of the old wheelhouse to the flange where the inner and outer wheelhouses are joined. Then transfer these measurements onto the new wheelhouse.

1990, Tom Currao, Ron Sessions, “Body Repair”, in Camaro Restoration Handbook: Ground-up or Sectional Restoration Tips & Techniques for 1967 to 1981 Camaros. All Models Included, New York, N.Y.: HPBooks, Berkley Publishing Group, →ISBN, image caption, page 97, column 1:

A building or other structure containing a (large) wheel, such as the water wheel of a mill.

The partially enclosed structure above and around a wheel of an automobile, typically partly formed by a portion of a fender panel that has been extended outward beyond the plane of the rest of the panel.

hjulbue

partially enclosed structure above and around a wheel of an automobile — see also wheel well


grill

en-noun

grill (plural grills or (jewelry) grillz)

1655, from French gril, from Middle French gril, from Old French greïl, graïl (“gridiron”), from graïlle (“grate, grating”), from Latin crātīcula (“gridiron”), diminutive of crātis (“hurdle, wickerwork”), q.v. Related to griddle, hurdle.

(colloquial, by extension) The front teeth regarded collectively.


bonnet

→ Scottish Gaelic: bonaid

From Middle English bonet, from Middle French bonet (Modern French bonnet), from Old French bonet (“material from which hats are made”), from Frankish *bunni (“that which is bound”), from Proto-Germanic *bundiją (“bundle”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie”).
Compare also Late Latin abbonis, obbonis (“ribbon of a headdress”), also of Germanic origin, from Frankish *obbunni, from *ob- (“above, over”) + *bunni.
Cognate with Old High German gibunt (“band, ribbon”), Middle Dutch bont (“bundle, truss”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌹 (gabundi, “bond”). More at over, bundle.

der

The car is burgundy red, wide and elegant, ten years old but still the boys are impressed and they run to touch it, pressing sticky handprints against the polished bodywork and trying to climb up onto the bonnet.

2003, Jon McGregor, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, page 189:

People were reluctant to slam a bonnet shut in those days. One just did not slam bonnets and doors.

2004, David Spencer, quoted in Don Loffler, The FJ Holden: A Favourite Australian Car, page 217:

By about 20 ms, there is contact between the bonnet leading edge and the pedestrian upper leg/pelvis on the struck side, the severity of which depends on the vehicle shape.

2009, Ciaran Simms, Denis Wood, Pedestrian and Cyclist Impact: A Biomechanical Perspective, page 38:

Stoll was still standing on the car bonnet with the catch of his large-calibre repeating rifle off.

2009, Stefan Aust, Anthea Bell, Baader-Meinhof: the inside story of the R.A.F., page 308:

(Australia, British, New Zealand, South Africa, automotive) The hinged cover over the engine of a motor car; a hood.


indicator

From Late Latin indicātor (“one who points out”), from Latin indicō (“point out”); see indicate.

(UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, automotive) A turn signal; each of the flashing lights on each side of a vehicle which indicate a turn is being made to left or right, or a lane change etc.


seat belt

"Wearing a seat belt for drivers and front seat occupants reduces the risk of death by 45 to 50%. Just think about that for a moment. A 50% more chance of staying alive. Who wouldn't go for that?" Michelle Yeoh, Reckless driving has 'immense' human and economic toll, Brussels, Euronews, Jorge Liboreiro, 20/9/2023

(automotive) A restraining belt attached to a vehicle seat and fastened around occupants in order to keep them in place and decelerate them smoothly rather than suddenly in an accident, mitigating the risk of injury from uncontrolled impact with injurious objects.

would you mind putting on your seat belt


grille

The house was a big elaborate limestone affair, evidently new. Winter sunshine sparkled on lace-hung casement, on glass marquise, and the burnished bronze foliations of grille and door.

1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

Alternative form of grill (only in the senses of "grating over opening", "grating on the front of a vehicle", and "window divider")


catalytic converter

en-noun

catalytic converter (plural catalytic converters)

(automotive) A chamber containing a finely divided platinum catalyst in which carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons from vehicle exhaust are oxidized to carbon dioxide.

محول حفزي

chamber in which carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons from vehicle exhaust are oxidized into carbon dioxide


headlight

A bright light, with a lens and reflector, on the front of a motor vehicle (or originally a ship or train), designed to illuminate the road when driving at night; normally one of a pair.

(Canada, slang, vulgar, chiefly in the plural) A woman's erect nipples, partially masked by clothing.

Lysergic acid diethylamide
lysergic acid diethylamide#English

(US, slang, chiefly in the plural) Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).


taillight

All moved to the front street, where Grierson snibbed on his tail-light and turned to ask the trooper, "They've got the main road ploughed up farther on, haven't they?"

1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 162:

One of a pair of red lights mounted on the rear of a vehicle, so it can be seen from the rear at night.


rear-view mirror

rear-view mirror (plural rear-view mirrors)

Coordinate term: side-view mirror

A mirror inside a vehicle that allows the driver to see the traffic behind.

огледало за задно виждане

mirror inside a vehicle giving view of the traffic behind


steering wheel

A wheel-shaped control that is rotated by the driver to steer, existing in most modern land vehicles.


distributor

internal combustion engine
internal combustion engine

A device that distributes electric current, especially to the spark plugs in an internal combustion engine.

bijíí

device that distributes current to the spark plugs


exhaust pipe

أشطمان

pipe that vents waste gases from the engine

For internal combustion engines, any of several pipes, connected in series, that carry waste gases away from the engine and vent it to the air.


tachometer

A device for measuring the revolutions per minute (RPMs) of a revolving shaft, as with the driveshaft of an automobile.


fairing

From fair (“community gathering, market”). In the sense of food, because cakes and sweets were sold at fairs.

(Scotland, Ireland, now rare) Something that is deserved; one's deserts.

[…] the ground […] was already being occupied by the “cheap Jacks,” with their green-covered carts and marvellous assortment of wares; and the booths of more legitimate small traders, with their tempting arrays of fairings and eatables; and penny peep-shows and other shows, containing pink-eyed ladies, and dwarfs, and boa-constrictors, and wild Indians.

1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days, Part I, Chapter 2:

A type of small gingerbread biscuit; a ginger nut.


fairing

From fair (“to smoothen or even a surface”).

The fairing over the driving motion of this engine, and of the 4-6-2s, was removed subsequently, to give greater accessibility to the working parts.

1950 October, H. C. Casserley, “Locomotive Cavalcade, 1920-1950—4”, in Railway Magazine, page 660:

A structure on various parts of a vehicle, for example an aircraft, automobile, or motorcycle, that produces a smooth exterior and reduces drag.


hubcap

A decorative and protective disk that covers the hub of a motor car wheel.


speedometer

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Usmaan (Middle river exports)-speedometer.wav

Such a device incorporating an odometer.

عداد سرعة

a device that measures, and indicates the current speed of a vehicle

ឧបករណ៍វាស់ល្បឿន

ʼŏbâkârn៍វាស់ល្បឿន


wiper

Something, such as a windscreen wiper, that is designed for wiping.


lug nut

A strong nut used to attach a wheel to an axle of a motor car.


gear shift

(automotive, US, Canada) The lever or other interface a human uses to shift gears.


tailpipe

(US) An exhaust pipe (on a vehicle) (in any configuration)


gear lever

(especially UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) The lever used to change gears in a motor vehicle.


car alarm

An audible and often visible alarm that is activated when a motor car/automobile is tampered with.


camshaft

A shaft fitted with cams; especially one in a piston engine that activates the valves.


block heater

An electric heater that heats the engine of a car to ease starting in cold weather.

parkeringsvarmer

an electric heater that heats the engine of a car to ease starting in cold weather


cowling

She nuzzled between the legs—a bull calf. She continued to nuzzle and clean the little pea-green body that was blue with white patches about his cowling parts.

2003, David Gilet, The Yellow Dot Plague and Other Tales:


cowling

A removable protective covering for the engine of an aircraft, motorcycle, etc.


disc brake

(automotive, British spelling) A type of brake where the friction is produced by brake pads which are pressed against a disc.


license plate

An identifying tag, usually of metal, bearing a sequence of letters, numbers, or both identifying the vehicle, and placed at the back and, often, also at the front of a motor vehicle.

ታርጋ ቁጥር

an identifying plate attached to a vehicle


fanbelt

A belt which turns a cooling fan in a car engine.


leaf spring

A spring in the form of a curved length(s) of steel, used in the suspension of wheeled vehicles


headlamp

The automobile headlamp uses either a parabolic reflector or a slight modification of it to obtain a concentrated light beam.

1940, Ralph A. Richardson, Optics and Wheels, General Motors Corporation, p. 13

With its long tapered cowcatcher, massive headlamp and enormous diamond smokestack behind, wagon-top boiler, high running-plate above the driving-wheels reached from a front door in the square side-window cab, cylinders with slide valves mounted on top, and double bogie tender, General in its present form is typical of much earlier American locomotive practice.

1942 February, “Notes and News: An Historic American Locomotive”, in Railway Magazine, page 56:

An individual headlight, particularly of a motor vehicle.


number plate

Japanese: ナンバープレート (nanbāpurēto)

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Either of a pair of rectangular metal plates bearing an alphanumeric code, fixed to the front and rear of a motor car to show its identity as registered with the DVLA.


parking brake

RSSB's report, released on September 23 2004, revealed that that the parking brakes on neither trolley had applied. It also revealed how the fixed piping carrying hydraulic pressure to the brake units on both had been severed and blanked off. This meant the parking brakes would not have been able to be released from the RRV. Washers to provide a clamping force to keep the parking brakes on were also missing, rendering them "completely inoperative".

2024 February 7, Greg Morse, “Tebay tragedy and track safety”, in RAIL, number 1002, page 41:

A brake in a vehicle that can be set to avoid the vehicle rolling down a hill or being pushed away.

駐車制動

brake intended for keeping a vehicle stationary without constant operator attention


timing belt

Coordinate term: timing chain

A part of an internal combustion engine that controls the timing of the engine's valves.


Brodie knob

(dated) A knob attached to the steering wheel of a motor vehicle, especially before the widespread availability of power steering, helping the driver steer with one arm.

Brodie knob
Steve Brodie (bridge jumper)


necker's knob

You remember the necker's knob on your high school jalopy?

1963, Herbert Gold, Salt: A Novel, Dial Press, page 246:

(idiomatic, slang, dated) A knob attached to the steering wheel of an automobile, especially before the widespread availability of power steering, helping the driver steer with one arm and leaving the other arm free to provide romantic attention to a companion.


fog lamp

(automotive) A bright red lamp (normally one of a pair) at the rear of a motor car that can be switched on during foggy weather so as to avoid collisions from cars approaching from behind

takasumuvalo

a bright red lamp at the rear of a motor car


footplate

All the same, nearly eight hours on the footplate covering a distance of 320 miles, with an ambient temperature of up to 103° for much of the time, proved an ordeal which I would not lightly undertake again.

1960 October, P. Ransome-Wallis, “Modern motive power of the German Federal Railway: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 611:

After a while we left the engine, but not before André had examined the 4-6-4 very carefully, with hammer and torch, both outside and underneath. And that was the end of my footplate work on this particular weekend.

1961 March, Balmore, “Driving and firing modern French steam locomotives”, in Trains Illustrated, page 148:

This uncoupling done, Gimbert opened the regulator as Nightall climbed back onto the footplate, in order to pull the one burning wagon away from the rest of the bomb-laden train.

2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 42:

(rail transport) The metal plate which forms the base platform of a steam locomotive and supports the boiler and the driver's cab, particularly in the United Kingdom.

(auto parts) A platform on which the driver's foot rests but which, unlike a pedal, has no effect.


footplate

en-verb

footplate (third-person singular simple present footplates, present participle footplating, simple past and past participle footplated)

footplates (present singular third-person)
footplating (participle present)
footplated (participle past)
footplated (past)

Hard work is required from men and machines as I was to experience later when footplating Lambton No 5 on five bogies battling its way up Newtondale.

1979 August, Michael Harris, “A line for all reasons: the North Yorkshire Moors Railway”, in Railway World, page 415:

(rail transport) To travel (or work) on the footplate of a locomotive.


foot brake

A brake controlled by foot, as opposed to a hand brake.


handbrake

(mechanical engineering, automotive, rail transport) A brake in a vehicle, set by hand, and usually locking on until released by hand, enabling its use when parked.

(mechanical engineering, automotive, rail transport) The mechanism, particularly the locking hand-operated lever or foot-operated toggle lever in a motorcar or the hand-operated crank on a railcar, which is used to set and release such a brake.


gas tank

(US) A fuel tank for gasoline built into equipment, especially vehicles.


tow bar

A bar, or ball, usually at the rear of a vehicle, where a trailer, or caravan or other similar item can be attached and towed.

trekhaak

a bar, or ball, usually at the rear of a vehicle, where a trailer, or caravan or other similar item can be attached and towed


gas pedal

(Canada, US, automobiles) Accelerator; foot control for fuel flow.


clutch pedal

(automotive) A pedal in a manual transmission car that modulates the clutch mechanism, via clutch plate pressure.


steering column

en-noun

steering column (plural steering columns)

(automotive) a column originating in the dashboard and ending at the steering wheel


fog light

(automotive) One of a pair of lights, mounted at the front of a car, below the headlights, usually white or yellow in colour, for increased visibility ahead in foggy driving conditions.

霧燈

one of a pair of lights, mounted at the front of a car


brake pedal

the pedal in a vehicle, usually a car, which operates the brakes

دَوَّاسَةُ المَكَابِح

the pedal in a vehicle which operates the brakes


footwell

to foreclose the possibility completely. she packed the footwell of the passenger seat with her duffel bag and camping gear and buckled a stack of seed trays on to the seat.

2023, Eleanor Catton, Birnam Wood, page 55:

The space for the feet in front of a seat in a vehicle


C-pillar

(automotive) The vertical support dividing a car's rear window from its rear windscreen, or, if the car has an additional window and D-pillar, the support dividing the central and rear windows.


jump starter

An instrument carried around to replenish a depleted car battery.


tonneau cover

A hard, locking tonneau cover, which fits over the bed, is an option.

2000 May 7, Dan Lienert, “Behind the Wheel: Ford Explorer Sport Trac”, in New York Times, retrieved 2012-07-12:

(automotive) A protective covering which may be secured over the exposed portion of a motor vehicle, such as the seating area of an open sports car or the back of a pickup truck.


engine block

The metal casting that contains the piston cylinders of an engine.


sideblade

A panel immediately behind the rear door of a car, often contrasting in colour with the bodywork.


frunk

The Model S, showing off both its traditional trunk and its surprising "frunk."

2013 (summer), Standard, issue 17, page 50

I pop the trunk of the Porsche and find ...the engine. […] I walk around the front of the car, pop the other trunk—the frunk?—and discover a tire iron nestled next to the spare.

2014 March 11, T. T. Monday, The Setup Man: A Novel, Doubleday, →ISBN:

[…] a rear cargo area that's more like that of a hatchback than the trunk of a sedan, and a "frunk" where the engine isn't. It's also theoretically safer than a dinosaur-burner, at least in a frontal collision, because the frunk provides a long crumple zone in the front […]

2014 August/September, Charged: Electric Vehicles Magazine, issue 15, page 65

(automotive) A trunk (boot, storage compartment) located at the front rather than the rear of a car.


on it like a car bonnet

From English on it with the fanciful elaboration like a car bonnet, the latter part chosen because it rhymes with the first part.

Students have described being focused like... / ... An eagle watching its prey ... a footballer with their eye on the ball ... ‘on it like a car bonnet’ ... catching a wave ... ‘just do it’ ... rolling your sleeves up ... keeping the rhythm in a band ... in the zone ... in a bubble ...a tiger

2015, Jeff Gill, Will Medd, Get Sorted: How to Make the Most of Your Student Experience, Palgrave, →ISBN, page 49:

‘I had my researchers check the files on all the mispers and cold cases five years either side of that date estimate, on females of that approximate age. This is what they found. Fill your boots.’ He took a large gulp of his drink. / ‘I’m impressed, you've been moving fast.’ / ‘On it like a car bonnet, mate.’

2015, Peter James, You Are Dead, New York, N.Y.: Minotaur Books, →ISBN:

We'll spin it that you and me were having a friendly chat over a pint, and you just happened to mention the victim hiring you to find a necklace. Whereupon I, seeing as how I knew stuff you didn't, was on it like a car bonnet and got you to sing like a canary what's won the X Factor and got top billing at the Royal Opera House.

2016 July, J. L. Merrow, Blow Down: The Plumber's Mate, Cincinnati, Oh.: Samhain Publishing, →ISBN:

(simile, humorous) Synonym of on it (“actively working to solve a problem, etc.”)


motor pulley

A special pulley attached to an axle of e.g. a motor to extract torque.


steam chest

One small tooth increase in regulator opening makes a minute increase in steam chest pressure reading and one can feel the clearly perceptible increase in the power output beneath one's feet.

1961 March, 'Balmore', “Driving and firing modern French steam locomotives”, in Trains Illustrated, page 150:

A chamber in a steam engine or locomotive from which steam from the boiler is distributed to the cylinders.


froot

"There’s a tiny froot (front boot), and a long if not particularly deep actual boot with 656 litres of lugging capacity.")

2018 June 4, “Jaguar i-Pace review: at last we drive Jag's first EV!”, in Car Magazine, archived from the original on 2019-12-18:

"In Australia, we like ‘froot’, for front boot.")

2014 December 9, “The Tesla Model S ‘Skateboard’ Rolling Chassis Is A Thing Of Beauty”, in Gizmodo, archived from the original on 2022-01-26:

"There is so much luggage space in the boot as well as under the bonnet, in the US that’s called the front trunk or “Frunk”, we call it the “Froot”. ")

2012 June 22, “S”, in Electragirl, archived from the original on 2022-01-26:

(automotive) A boot (storage compartment) located at the front rather than the rear of a car, especially an electric vehicle.


Cadillac converter

Cadillac converter (plural Cadillac converters)

From the similarity between catalytic and Cadillac (“brand of luxury automobile”), probably originally a mondegreen (“error arising from the mishearing of a phrase”) and used humorously to allude to the high cost of catalytic converters.

Anyway, wherever he was, all he ever talked about was Cadillac converters and pipe. His work with pipe paid off when he was awarded the honor of "Repairman of the Week."

1992, Ricardo Cortez Cruz, “The Bloods and the Crips, Starring Billy Bugle Boy”, in Straight Outta Compton, Normal, Ill., Boulder, Colo.: University of Colorado; Fiction Collective Two, →ISBN, page 65:

He then asked, “What is a Cadillac converter?” At this point, I'm thinking he doesn't know much about cars; therefore, I went on to explain. From the look on his face, I knew he was setting me up for an attack. He replied, "The proper words are catalytic converter."

2008, Gilbert A. Knowles, “Why Listen to Me?”, in Help Them Pull Their Pants Up: How Mentors and Communities Can Empower Young African American Men, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN, part I (The Preamble), page 28:

We were a strong competitor throughout the competition, but then the Cadillac''' converter fell off, which hurt our emissions and place in the overall standings.

2011 November, Robert Hartwell Fiske, “cadillac”, in Robert Hartwell Fiske’s Dictionary of Unendurable English: A Compendium of Mistakes in Grammar, Usage, and Spelling with Commentary on Lexicographers and Linguists, revised edition, New York, N.Y.: Scribner, →ISBN, page 86:

catalytic converter
catalytic converter#English

(chiefly Southern US, malapropism, nonstandard, often humorous) Synonym of catalytic converter (“chamber containing a finely divided platinum catalyst in which carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons from vehicle exhaust are oxidized to carbon dioxide”)


rocker panel

The part of the side of a car below the doors.


wire wheel

If they hadn't been payin' him all them millions for pitcher plays, he could of got a job in a wire wheel.

1916, Ring W. Lardner, “Three Kings and a Pair”, in The Saturday Evening Post:

A wheel having a central hub connected to the rim by wire spokes, formerly in common use on automobiles.


jump box

An item of portable equipment for jump-starting a vehicle.


bar pad

Set the bar pad in the center of the bar. If you don't have a bar pad, it's easy enough to wrap a towel around the bar as well.

2011, Nick Nilsson, The Best Arm Exercises You've Never Heard Of:

Lower the bar down so it is about 30cm off the ground and place a bar pad (a black, cushioned tube) around the centre of the horizontal bar.

2019, Chloe Madeley, Transform Your Body With Weights:


fuel pump

a part of a motor vehicle that transfers liquid from the fuel tank to the carburetor or fuel injector of the internal combustion engine.


ditchfinder

My MX-5 was *ace* in the snow in February round here. I went where other cars couldn't go with no problem at all. It was on Avons, and felt a whole hell of a lot safer then the FWD Puma on Pirelli ditchfinders did.

2009 August 5, Mike P, “Re: Rear wheel drive”, in uk.rec.cars.misc (Usenet):

The better half's Lupo was transformed when the cheap and nasty Nankang ditchfinders came off (and they were well above the legal limit) and mid-price Kumhos went on. The cheapos compromise on grip and can become noisy.

2012 February 26, Chris Bartram, “Re: tyres”, in uk.rec.driving (Usenet):

Sure, mismatching isn't ideal, but I'd much rather have mismatched decent tyres than matched AliBaba-brand-it-yourself ditchfinders.

2016 June 7, Adrian, “Re: Tyre noise”, in uk.rec.cars.maintenance (Usenet):

(UK, automotive, slang) A poor-quality tyre for a car, usually one made and sold cheaply.


distributor cap

distributor cap (plural distributor caps)

Part of an internal combustion engine that covers the distributor and rotor, and helps distribute electrical current to the spark plugs.


motor mount

Synonym of engine mount (“part that connects a vehicle engine to the frame”)


transmission mount

transmission mount (plural transmission mounts)

Part of a motor vehicle that connects the transmission to the vehicle.


engine mount

Part of a motor vehicle that connects the engine to the vehicle frame.


block holder

The part in an automobile or train where brake blocks are mounted.