British English for a tow truck — the heavy vehicle that comes to rescue your broken-down car and haul it to the nearest garage. In the UK, 'lorry' is the standard word for a large truck, and a 'breakdown lorry' is specifically the one equipped with a crane, winch, or flatbed for recovering stricken vehicles. If you've ever been stranded on the motorway, the breakdown lorry arriving feels like the most beautiful sight in the world.
The breakdown lorry took over an hour to arrive, leaving them waiting on the hard shoulder in the rain.
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(chiefly, UK) A tow truck.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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