lorry

noun

1. (Africa, British, India, Ireland, South-Asia)A large and heavy motor vehicle designed to carry goods or soldiers; a truck

   “But whenever one of the motor-trucks lumbering by bore a big U.S. on its rear panel Troy pushed his light ambulance ahead and skimmed past, just for the joy of seeing the fresh young heads rising pyramid-wise about the sides of the lorry, hearing the snatches of familiar songs—"Hail, hail, the gang's all here!" and "We won't come back till it's over over here!"—and shouting back in reply to a stentorian "Hi, kid, beat it!", "Bet your life I will, old man!"”

   “The railway is still vital to Jordan's export trade, but in spite of the poor quality of the road, diesel lorries are gradually robbing it of freight traffic, and anyone who can afford to fly does so rather than face the long desert journey by rail.”

   “The most frequent age for starting in the actual occupation of lorry driving is 17 years. Trampers tend to start later, the mode amongst them being 19 years. The mean average age for beginning in lorry driving in the sample is between 21 and 23 years. The mean average number of years spent in lorry driving varies according to the type of driver.”

   “Until the main road from Hatfield to Hertford was diverted a few years ago, heavy lorries trundling through the village sometimes knocked chunks off corner buildings, but now the village has regained much of its former tranquillity.”

   “Our journey through the streets of Singapore awoke strange emotions. Very little of the structural damage seemed to have been repaired beyond make-shift patchwork. The streets had a dingy and forlorn look. We arrived outside the British American Tobacco building and had our first experience of the shouting and hustlings that accompanied all Japanese supervision of our movements. We were shouted at to get out of the lorry with our baggage and make out way into the building.”

2. (Malaysia, Singapore)A truck with an open carriage, sometimes used for transporting construction workers.
3. (dated)A barrow or truck for shifting baggage, as at railway stations.
4. (dated)A small cart or wagon used on the tramways in mines to carry coal or rubbish.

   “The mixing 48-in. belts lie flat and run from the bottom of the mixer bins to two coal mixers which deliver the coal to a reversing 42-in. belt conveyor, taking it to either one of two 36-in. belts, running to the top of two larry bins. Each larry bin is located between two batteries of ovens, [...] Under the larry bins are provided platform scales which enable the larry operator to fill his larry with the exact amount of coal to charge an oven.”

   “Having had a precursor in the tracks ground into Roman roads (with a width similar to modern standard gauge, 1435 mm or 4ft 8.5in), Europe only saw the return of track systems in the early modern age, in the shape of mining railways: wooden lorries, operating on wide wooden rails and guided by a track nail between the two rails.”

5. (obsolete)A large, low, horse-drawn, four-wheeled cart without sides; also, a similar wagon modified for use on railways.

   “Platelayers, or others, who may have hand lorries or waggons on the line without engines, are strictly charged never to have the same on the line so as to be in the way of a coming train, except for some indispensable purpose, and then special care must be taken to warn any approaching train by proper signal in sufficient time.”

   “For the services of horses and conveyances as may be required at either camp, at a charge per diem to be stated in tender, specifying single horse carts and four horse lorries.”

   “[Garran.] Would it make any difference to you whether the tramway were worked by horses or by cable? [Macintosh.] It would not matter to me, so long as I could get into my premises. We have, perhaps, one of the largest businesses, in heavy material, in Pitt-street, and this traffic is carried on by lorries. If a tramway were laid down in the street, we should not be able to get into our premises.”

   “In Barton's case it was a State Coal Department lorry that hit him and smashed him and the Government would not admit that the State Coal Department lorry was a public work.”

verb

1. (also, figuratively, transitive)To transport by, or as if by, lorry.

   “He lorried away with a whole pile of things, and cheated the bailiffs.”

   “The midday meal at 1230hrs for 'C' and 'D' Companies would be followed by them parading at the camp gates for lorrying to Hazebrouck.”

   “[S]he had bought three jars of baby food, for convenience, and was busy lorrying them into me when I unintentionally spurted a huge mouthful all over her magnificent blouse and skirt.”

   “At a lamplit corner I signalled a cross-bearing transport, and to low salutations of 'Evening, sir,' was hoisted up, bag and all, and swiftly lorried away.”