Car Crossword Puzzles Printable

Print a criss-cross car crossword of parts, road words and kinds of cars, with its answer key.

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Car Crossword

Read each clue and write the answer in the squares that start at its number, one letter in each square.

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Answer key: Car Crossword

1D2EN3T4FNR5BELTGIRAI6PAINT7TANKDEG8TI9REOOW10OILF

Across 1 DENT · 5 BELT · 6 PAINT · 7 TANK · 8 TIRE · 10 OIL

Down 2 ENGINE · 3 TRIP · 4 FLAT · 5 BRIDGE · 8 TOW · 9 ROOF

Next step Find car words in a word searchColor a car by number

All 178 clues

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Outside the Car 22

  • Antenna Thin mast or small fin that brings in stations
  • Blinker It flashes left or right before a turn
  • Bumper Front or rear bar built to take a low-speed bump
  • Chassis Strong frame underneath that carries the body and the wheels
  • Door It swings open to let you in
  • Fender Curved side panel over one of the wheels; it keeps mud from flying up
  • Grille Front opening, often with bars or mesh, where air comes in
  • Handle Part you grab and pull to get in
  • Headlight One of the two lamps that light the way ahead
  • Hood Hinged metal cover at the front; raise it to see what makes a car go
  • Hubcap Decorative disk that covers the middle of one of the wheels
  • Mirror The driver checks it to see who is following
  • Paint Colored coat on the body
  • Plate Metal tag with letters and numbers, front or back
  • Roof Top of a car, over your head
  • Spoiler Raised strip across the back of a sporty car that changes how air flows over it
  • Taillight Rear lamp that glows red
  • Tailpipe Tube at the back where burned gases leave
  • Trunk Lidded space behind the back seats where the suitcases ride
  • Window Glass that rolls up and down
  • Windshield Wide sheet of glass the driver looks through
  • Wiper Arm that swings back and forth across the glass in the rain

Inside the Car 27

  • Airbag Hidden pillow that fills in a blink during a crash
  • Belt Strap that goes across your lap and chest
  • Booster Raised cushion that lifts a child so the strap fits
  • Buckle It goes click when the strap is fastened
  • Clutch Leftmost foot control in a car with a manual gearbox
  • Console Storage box and cup holders between the front seats
  • Cruise With 'control,' the setting that holds one speed
  • Dashboard Panel in front of the driver that holds the dials
  • Gauge Its needle slides from F toward E as the fuel runs low
  • Gear First, second, third or reverse
  • Glovebox Little cupboard for maps and papers, named for hand coverings
  • Headrest Cushion at the top of the seatback
  • Heater It blows warm air in winter
  • Horn Press it and it goes beep
  • Ignition Where a car is switched on
  • Key Small metal thing that unlocks and starts a car
  • Lock Fastener that keeps something shut until a code or button opens it
  • Mat Rubber or carpet rectangle under your feet
  • Odometer Dial that counts how far a car has gone
  • Pedal The driver presses one to go and another to slow
  • Radio Turn its dial to change the station
  • Seat Where you sit
  • Shifter Lever that changes gears
  • Speedometer Its needle climbs as the car goes faster
  • Steering wheel The driver holds it and turns it to aim the car
  • Vent Opening that air blows out of
  • Visor Flap you fold down to keep the sun out of your eyes

Under the Hood 26

  • Alternator Part that makes electricity whenever the car is running
  • Battery Heavy box that gives the first jolt of electricity
  • Charger Where an electric car plugs in
  • Coolant Liquid that carries heat away so nothing overheats
  • Cylinder Round chamber inside which fuel burns
  • Diesel Fuel that most big rigs burn; its name was an engineer's
  • Dipstick Long thin rod with marks that show a liquid's level
  • Engine It burns fuel and turns the wheels
  • Exhaust Waste gases given off when fuel burns
  • Fan It whirs to pull cooling air through
  • Filter It traps dirt and lets the clean air through
  • Fuse It blows on purpose when too much current flows
  • Gas Short word for the fuel most cars burn
  • Horsepower Unit of power named for a farm animal
  • Hose Rubber tube clamped on at both ends
  • Motor What turns the wheels in an electric car
  • Muffler Part that quiets the roar of burned gases on their way out
  • Nozzle Spout that fits into the filler opening
  • Oil Slick liquid poured in to keep metal parts from rubbing
  • Piston Sliding plug pushed down by burning fuel
  • Pump Machine at a filling station that moves fuel into a car
  • Radiator It sheds heat from the hot liquid pumped through it
  • Spark Tiny flash that sets the fuel burning
  • Tank It is empty when the needle points to E
  • Transmission Set of gears that carries power to the wheels
  • Turbo Short name for a part that forces extra air in for more power

Wheels and Brakes 24

  • Alignment Setting the wheels so they all point the right way
  • Axle Rod on which a pair of wheels turns
  • Brake The driver steps on it to slow down
  • Disc Round metal part that pads squeeze to slow things down
  • Flat Out of air after running over a nail
  • Hub The center that each of the wheels turns around
  • Inflate Fill with air
  • Jack Crank it and one side of the car rises
  • Lug Kind of nut that holds wheels on
  • Pad Block that rubs against spinning metal to slow it
  • Pressure It is measured in pounds per square inch
  • Rim Metal edge that the rubber fits onto
  • Roll What wheels do
  • Shock Short name for the part that stops the bouncing after a bump
  • Skid Slide without rolling
  • Spare The fifth one, stored for an emergency
  • Spring Steel coil that soaks up a bump
  • Squeal High-pitched screech
  • Suspension Springs and other parts that soften bumps
  • Tire Ring of rubber filled with air
  • Traction Grip that keeps wheels from slipping
  • Tread Pattern of grooves that wears down with the miles
  • Valve Small stem where air goes in
  • Wheel Round part that rolls; most cars have four

On the Road 34

  • Bridge It carries cars high above the water
  • Carpool Neighbors taking turns driving each other's children
  • Corner Where two streets meet
  • Crosswalk Striped place for walkers to cross
  • Curb Concrete lip that runs along the side of a street
  • Detour Marked way around a closed stretch
  • Driveway Short strip beside a house where the family car waits
  • Exit Way off the freeway, often numbered
  • Highway Wide main way between towns, built for faster travel
  • Honk Beep at another car
  • Jam Line of cars that can hardly move
  • Lane A wide street may have four of these side by side
  • License Card earned by passing a driving test
  • Map Folded paper or phone screen that shows the way
  • Median Strip that divides the two directions
  • Merge Blend into moving cars as two lanes become one
  • Mile About 1.6 kilometers
  • Park Leave a car standing in a marked space
  • Pass Go by a slower car
  • Passenger A rider, not the one at the controls
  • Pothole Hole in worn pavement
  • Ramp Sloped way onto or off a freeway
  • Road Paved way that cars travel on
  • Roundabout Ring at a crossing where every car turns the same way around an island
  • Route The way a driver plans to go
  • Shoulder Strip beside the travel lanes
  • Sign Board on a post that tells drivers what is ahead
  • Signal Set of red, yellow and green lamps
  • Stop Word in white letters on a red octagon
  • Toll Fee paid to use some bridges and routes
  • Traffic Cars, buses and trucks on the move, thickest at rush hour
  • Trip A long one may need snacks, songs and stops
  • Tunnel Hole in a hill that cars drive through
  • Yield Word on a triangle: the other driver goes first

Kinds of Cars 23

  • Automobile Long word for car
  • Buggy Light open car for sand dunes
  • Bus Yellow ride with many rows of benches
  • Cab Where the driver of a big rig sits
  • Camper House on wheels with bunks for a family vacation
  • Classic Word for a prized car from decades ago
  • Compact Word for a small car
  • Convertible Car whose top folds down
  • Coupe Car with two doors and a sloping roofline
  • Dragster Long-nosed racer that sprints down a short straight strip
  • Hatchback Car whose whole rear end lifts up to load
  • Hybrid Car that runs on both fuel and stored electricity
  • Jalopy Old car in poor shape
  • Kart Tiny open four-wheeled racer for small tracks
  • Limo Long luxury car with a hired driver, for short
  • Pickup Its open bed in back hauls lumber and furniture
  • Race Cars speed around a track to win one
  • Sedan Family car with a closed body and a separate space for bags
  • SUV Three-letter name for a sport utility vehicle
  • Taxi Ride you hail on a city street and pay for at the end
  • Truck Hauler; the dump kind tips its load out
  • Van Tall, boxy ride with a sliding side panel
  • Wagon Family car with a long roofline and a cargo area in back

At the Garage 22

  • Bolt Metal pin with a spiral thread and a six-sided head
  • Bucket Pail filled with suds
  • Dent Hollow knocked into metal
  • Funnel Wide-mouthed cone for filling a small opening without a spill
  • Garage A car sleeps in one at home and gets fixed in another in town
  • Hoist Raise a heavy part straight up on a chain
  • Inspect Check every part, one by one
  • Leak Drip from a hole that should not be there
  • Lift Machine that raises a whole car so work can be done underneath
  • Mechanic Worker in coveralls who finds out what the rattle is
  • Polish Buff until you can see your face in it
  • Repair Make a broken car run again
  • Rust Orange-brown flakes that eat into old steel
  • Scratch Thin line scraped into a shiny surface
  • Sponge Squeeze it out and it is ready for more suds
  • Toolbox Metal chest with a tray of sockets and pliers
  • Tow Pull a car that cannot move by itself
  • Tune Adjust so that everything runs smoothly
  • Vacuum Noisy cleaner that lifts sand out of the carpet
  • Wash Suds, rinse and dry
  • Wax Rubbed on in small circles, then buffed to a gleam
  • Wrench Hand tool with jaws sized to fit a nut

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site for elementary classes and road trips, in seven sets: outside the car, inside it, under the hood, wheels and brakes, the road, kinds of cars and the garage. Each answer was looked up in Wiktionary and the American Heritage Dictionary, and facts about parts and road signs in English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), in October 2026. No make or model is named, and no clue is driving advice. Licence: own work

How it works

These car crossword puzzles, printable on Letter or A4, open on words such as Engine, Tire, Roof and Belt. They are vocabulary crosswords, and no make or model of car is an answer or a clue.

Read the full guide

Seven sets, bumper to garage

Outside the Car has Fender, Grille and Spoiler. Inside the Car has Dashboard, Clutch and Glovebox. Under the Hood has Radiator, Piston and Dipstick. Wheels and Brakes has Tread, Lug and Axle. On the Road has Detour, Merge and Roundabout. Kinds of Cars has Sedan, Hatchback and Jalopy. At the Garage has Mechanic, Wrench and Hoist.

For a road trip or an auto shop class

Easy Car Words keeps a back seat busy, and a child can find many of its answers on the car itself. Under the Hood and Wheels and Brakes suit the first week of auto shop.

  • Steering wheel is the one two-word answer. It fills 13 squares with no gap.

Questions and answers

Is the car crossword printable free, with an answer key?

Yes. It is free, with no sign-up, and the answer key prints last on a sheet of its own.

Is there a crossword of car parts?

Yes. Choose Outside the Car, Inside the Car, Under the Hood or Wheels and Brakes under Clue set for a puzzle of that part of the car, with answers from Headlight and Muffler to Steering wheel.

What age are the car crossword puzzles for?

Easy Car Words suits grades 1 to 3. The part sets, with answers such as Alternator and Suspension, suit grade 4 and up. These bands are our judgment, not a published standard.

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