A utility vehicle, especially a light truck with an open cargo area, commonly used in Australia and New Zealand.
Australian and New Zealand abbreviation of 'utility vehicle,' used since the 1940s. Shortened colloquial forms like this are common in Commonwealth English.
The 'ute' is basically the Australian equivalent of a pickup truck, but it's genuinely useful in places where you need one vehicle that can carry people and also haul equipment on rough terrain. Australian English has tons of these quirky shortened words.
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