van

views updated

van1 / van/ • n. a covered boxlike motor vehicle, typically having a rear door and sliding doors on the side panels, used for transporting goods or people. ∎  a covered truck used for moving goods, esp. furniture. ∎ Brit. a caravan.van2 • n. (the van) the foremost part of a company of people moving or preparing to move forward, esp. the foremost division of an advancing military force: in the van were the foremost chiefs and some of the warriors astride horses. ∎ fig. the forefront: he was in the van of the movement to encourage the cultivation of wildflowers.van3 • n. 1. archaic a winnowing fan. 2. archaic or poetic/lit. a bird's wing.

More From encyclopedia.com