18-wheeler en · NOUN
Etymology
From the total number of wheels: two front steering wheels on the tractor, plus dual wheels on each end of two axles (total of 8) at the rear of the tractor and supporting the front of the trailer, plus dual wheels on two axles at the rear of the trailer.
Meanings
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A big rig truck: a semi-trailer plus the truck or tractor pulling it.
On a cold morning in Abilene, Texas, a column of 18-wheelers crawls down bumpy, waterlogged roads, past cattle grazing on dusty shrubs.
2025 December 11, Charlie Campbell, Andrew R. Chow and Billy Perrigo, “The Architects of AI Are TIME’s 2025 Person of the Year”, in Time:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| eighteen-wheeler | alternative | lexicographic | |
| 18-wheelers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
articulated lorry · semi · semi truck · big rig · tractor-trailer · artic · juggernaut · semi-trailer truck · truck and trailer