cab-overadj.n.
/ˈkabˌəʊvə/, U.S. /ˈkæbˌoʊvər/, Australian English /ˈkæbˌoʊvə/ A. adj.
Chiefly North American and Australian. Of a lorry, truck, etc.: designed so that most or all of the engine is located below rather than in front of the driver's compartment, with the vehicle usually having a flat vertical front; = cab-over-engine adj.This design is relatively uncommon in North America and Australia, but predominant in Europe.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor lorry, truck, or van > [adjective]
cab-over1939
1939 Bakersfield Californian 25 Feb. 8/4 The state machine is a large cab-over truck complete with a separate motor for pumping up to 750 gallons per minute.
1973 Pop. Mech. May 136/2 Climb into a big cabover tractor (cabover design allows builders to make a shorter truck to comply with legal restrictions on length).
2004 Advertiser (Austral.) (Nexis) 24 Apr. m42 Kenworth says the short BBC gains the attributes of a cab-over design - manoeuvrability, visibility, minimal overall length as well as ease of access in and out the cab.
B. n.
1. Chiefly North American and Australian. A cab-over-engine lorry, truck, etc., or the cab section of such a vehicle (see cab-over-engine adj.).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor lorry, truck, or van > [noun] > truck or lorry > cab or type of cab
cab1916
cab-over1943
tilt cab1963
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor lorry, truck, or van > [noun] > truck or lorry > with specific type of body
platform truck1868
stake-body truck1907
stake-truck1907
panel truck1910
tray top1934
cab-forward1936
cab-over1943
panel van1948
tipper1950
straight job1955
stake1968
1943 Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gaz. 17 Oct. 6/7 Brand new Dodge Trucks... ½-ton and ¾-ton Pickups and Panels. 1½-tons and 1½-tons Heavy Duty with dual axles, conventional cabs and cab-overs. All wheel bases.
1968 Washington Post 12 May d7/2 (advt.) Pick-ups, dumps, vans, cab and chassis, tractors (cab-overs and conventionals) tandems and single axles.
2002 D. B. Mason Men with Brooms ii. iii. 179 An eighteen-wheeler with a big cab-over sat quietly under the floodlights of a nearby parking lot, looking for all the world like a dozing buffalo.
2. U.S. A unit which fits into the rear cargo section of a pickup truck, usually having a sleeping area which extends over the driver's compartment; a truck camper. More fully cab-over camper.
ΚΠ
1964 Pop. Sci. May 108/1 More storage nooks for hunting and fishing gear and camping tools are provided in this year's cab-over models.
1965 Pop. Mech. June 112/1 The cab-over also slides into the truck bed, but it has a double bed extending over the cab.
1971 Pop. Mech. May 146/2 Cab-over camper owners seem to have become wise to the need for two mirrors.
2007 Contra Costa (Calif.) Times (Nexis) 23 Mar. f4 Joe and I purchased a cab-over camper earlier in the spring and we were itching for a long road-trip.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.n.1939