Dictionary

ute en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /juːt/
• yo͞ot
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Clipping of utility vehicle, originating from the 1930s term coupé utility.

Meanings

1. (Australia, New-Zealand) A small vehicle based on the same platform as a family car but with a unibody construction and a built-in open tray area for carrying goods; similar but not identical to a pick-up truck.
   • Still, given the choice between being stuck behind a ute in tropical scenery and spending four to five hours driving through stretches of semi-desert, I′d rather have the ute-plus-heart-attack. 2008, Penelope Adams, Why Women Are Stupid, Lulu, →ISBN, page 105:
   • Paramedics rushed Melissa Dennis to the Royal Adelaide hospital with serious injuries after she was hit by a ute at Medindie on Saturday night. 2023 December 31, Matthew Weaver, “Rohan Dennis charged over death of wife, fellow cyclist Melissa Dennis”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • The Reverend John Flynn, a man of simple tastes, was always recognisable in the outback, dressed in a suit, driving an old ute and puffing on a pipe. 2007, Sheryl Persson, The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, Australia: Exisle Publishing, →ISBN, page 40:
   • A sample body was made in 1933 and the first utilities, or ‘utes’, rolled off the production line next year. Dubbed ‘the Kangaroo Chaser’ by Henry Ford when Bandt displayed two examples in Detroit, United States of America, in 1935, the ute was quickly recognised as the ideal farmers' vehicle. 2009, Damian Veltri, “Bandt, Louis (Lewis) Thornett (1910–1987)”, in Dianne Lingmore, Darryl Bennet, editors, Australian Dictionary of Biography, volume 17 1981–1990: A–K, →ISBN, page 55:

Forms

Deriveds

sport ute · Utegate

Relateds

panel van · station wagon · tilly · pick-up truck · coupe utility · bakkie · coupé utility · pickup truck · dual cab