trolleybus

noun

trol·​ley·​bus ˈträ-lē-ˌbəs How to pronounce trolleybus (audio)
: a bus that is powered electrically by two overhead wires

Examples of trolleybus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Only a few cities that were willing to provide significant operating subsidies, including San Francisco and Boston, were able to maintain better bus networks and some trolleybuses. Fortune, 3 Mar. 2023 But repairs have been underway; for example, on February 16, electric trams and trolleybuses started running in Kyiv again. David Hambling, Popular Mechanics, 24 Feb. 2023 Modern trolleybuses plying the city’s streets all carry a notice saying they were purchased with funds donated by the European Union. Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Aug. 2019 Metro maintains 70 miles of dual-wire trolleybus corridor, the second-largest system of just six in North America. Mike Lindblom, The Seattle Times, 27 Aug. 2018 New Flyer recently built a mixed-length fleet of 174 purple trolleybuses for Metro, ordered in 2015 in tandem with San Francisco Muni. Mike Lindblom, The Seattle Times, 27 Aug. 2018 Standard trolleybuses sell for over $1 million each. Mike Lindblom, The Seattle Times, 27 Aug. 2018 Height barely clears the overhead wires of train and trolleybus lines. Alexander Lew, WIRED, 28 Dec. 2007

Word History

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of trolleybus was in 1921

Dictionary Entries Near trolleybus

Cite this Entry

“Trolleybus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trolleybus. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on trolleybus

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!