Matatu
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /məˈtætuː/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Matatu is a noun meaning (Kenya, Uganda) A minivan used as a shared taxi, especially one operating without a licence.
Meaning
(Kenya, Uganda) A minivan used as a shared taxi, especially one operating without a licence.
Example Sentences
Memories of their sense of trepidation, or even the anger, aboard a matatu could still be visceral.
For now, matatus made lanes along both sides of tarmac main roads and went over, around or through potholes depending on their speed.
The roads were jammed with matatu minibuses sporting cartoonish liveries, and trucks billowing black smoke into the dazzling African light.
A matatu is also more profitable when driven by its owner than by an employed driver, or if the employee-driver pays in all the earnings and the owner meets the operating costs, rather than when the owner demands a fixed sum of money daily, with the operator keeping the surplus.
Word Forms
- matatus
Synonyms for matatu
Depending on context, synonyms include daladala, mathree.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include daladala, manamba, drone, boda-boda, bodaboda, achaba.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.