Definition

Noun: A small, low-powered, electrically powered vehicle designed to be driven on a special enclosed platform or rink where the primary activity is to deliberately bump into other such vehicles for amusement.

Usage

The term "bumper car" refers specifically to the individual vehicle used in the amusement ride. It is a count noun. - We rode the bumper cars for ten minutes. - My bumper car got stuck in the corner.

Examples

• The children laughed as they steered their bumper cars into each other.
• One of the bumper cars had a steering wheel that didn't work properly.
• The amusement park has a classic bumper car attraction.

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used attributively (like an adjective) to describe related things.
  • The bumper car rink was very crowded.
  • We had a bumper car collision.

Variants and Related Words

• Dodgem: (Noun) A British term for a bumper car, and the common name for the ride in many countries outside North America.
  • We spent all our tokens on the dodgems.

Synonyms

• Dodgem car
• Bumper auto (less common)

Notes

"Bumper car" is the standard term in American and Canadian English for this amusement ride vehicle. The activity itself is often called "riding the bumper cars" or "the bumper car ride."

Noun

1. a small low-powered electrically powered vehicle driven on a special platform where there are many others to be dodged