[Vocabulary] "Dump."

"So I buy an old dump that's got about a hundred thousand miles on the clock. I get it cheap."

Does the word dump above means a really sh**ty car or just a type of vehicle like truck? Could it be both?

Where are you finding these sentences, anniey?

Clapped-out vehicles are not commonly referred to as 'dumps'.

From the book 'Matilda' by Roald Dahl.
I just wanted to know what 'dump' exactly is :-(. It was said by Matilda's father who is a second-handed car dealer.

It could be any type of vehicle. Context might tell you more about what it is.

anniey799 said:

From the book 'Matilda' by Roald Dahl.
I just wanted to know what 'dump' exactly is :-(. It was said by Matilda's father who is a second-handed car dealer.

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I think Mr Roald Dahl may have been the only person to ever use that word to refer to an old car.

This term was used for an old car in Australia when I was a child. I haven't heard it recently, except for an old house/building.

It's used for old homes and buildings in BrE. It can also be used for towns and places that we dislike.

anniey799 said:

Does the word dump above means a really shitty car or just a type of vehicle like truck? Could it be both?

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Please bear in mind that one of the words you've used is considered offensive by some and should not be used in polite company.

I heard this word when I was in Detroit and those people meant a car. I remember it clearly even today, though I was there five years ago. :-D

Barb_D said:

Please bear in mind that one of the words you've used is considered offensive by some and should not be used in polite company.

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Quite. To spare the blushes of the faint-hearted, I have slightly censored the original post.

In BE at least, a clapped-out old vehicle is called a heap.

Rover_KE said:

In BE at least, a clapped-out old vehicle is called a heap.

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In AmE, "heap" or "junker" might be used.