by car vs in a car

Both "by car" and "in a car" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "By car" is used to indicate the mode of transportation, while "in a car" is used to describe being inside a car.

Last updated: March 30, 2024 • 1478 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate the mode of transportation.

"by car"

Use "by car" to indicate the mode of transportation when someone is traveling using a car.

Examples:

I usually travel by car to work.
We will go to the beach by car.
She prefers to explore the countryside by car.

Show examples from the web [+]

When trouble arrives by car or bus...
Nowadays many people travel by car.
Man reached by car 5-10min city center.
But also by car or bicycle accessibility is excellent.
Milan and Turin one hour by car, Genoa 40 min.
All information to travel by car.
Parking facilities are available for guests arriving by car.
Streets are crowded with people escaping cities by car and on foot as witnesses report unexplained mass suicides.
Hour and a half by car.
A man running on foot 500 meters... before someone comes by car for two miles.
Because we can't get there fast enough by car.
They abducted her, traveled by car.
You won't make it by car.
You won't make it by car.
The only anonymous travel these days is by car.
Farouqui and Heydar Zamani are arriving by car.
No, he is coming by car.
It'll be difficult to get there by car.
We'll leave later, by car.
Notes to reach the Autodromo: by car - About 8 km from A14 exit.

Alternatives:

by train
by plane
by bus
by bike
by foot

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to describe being inside a car.

"in a car"

Use "in a car" when referring to being inside a car as a passenger or driver.

Examples:

We are sitting in a car waiting for the rain to stop.
She felt sick while traveling in a car.
He enjoys listening to music in a car.

Show examples from the web [+]

FBI agents are putting him in a car right now.
You get in a car with him...
And I live in a car.
Something about a robbery charge and some girls in a car.
You're sitting in a car worth 20,000 dollars.
The bomb exploded in a car belongingto a Rojas associate.
Both were couples, in a car, hit by a tractor trailer.
If I was alone in a car with Scarlett Johansson...
Then like that, these four girls drive by in a car.
She had a cheeky agreement with a man in a car.
Instead I'm sitting in a car in Istanbul going nowhere.
You can have the best time in a car.
Traffic cams caught them leaving in a car.
Like Paula Deen and Kramer talking in a car.
I'm in a car with teddy and Ellie.
Parsa... was hidden in a car.
And it all happened in a car outside of school.
You should know better than to get in a car with Terry.
There were six of us jammed in a car.
His real father was Algerian, blew himself up in a car, nearthe French Embassy in Cairo.

Alternatives:

in a bus
in a taxi
in a train
in a plane
in a boat

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by car vs in a car

"by car"

"in a car"

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