drive

American  

[drahyv] / draɪv /

verb (used with object)

• drives,
  present (3rd person singular)
• drove,
  past
• drave,
  past (Archaic)
• driven,
  past participle
• driving
  present participle

1. to send, expel, or otherwise cause to move by force or compulsion: to drive back an attacking army;

   to drive away the flies;

   to drive back an attacking army;

   to drive a person to desperation.

   Synonyms:

   force, push

2. to cause and guide the movement of (a vehicle, an animal, etc.): to drive a mule.

   to drive a car;

   to drive a mule.

3. to convey in a vehicle.

   She drove them to the station.

4. to force to work or act.

   He drove the workers until they collapsed.

5. to impel; constrain; urge; compel.

6. to carry (business, an agreement, etc.) vigorously through.

   He drove a hard bargain.

7. to keep (machinery) going.

8. Baseball.

   1. to cause the advance of (a base runner) by hitting a fair ball.

      Another blast off of Miller’s bat drives Rojas from first base all the way to third.

   2. to cause (a run) to be scored by hitting a fair ball.

      She drove in two runs in the sixth inning.

9. Golf. to hit (a golf ball), especially from the tee, as with a driver or driving iron.

   She drove the ball within ten feet of the pin.

10. Sports.

    1. to hit or propel (a ball, puck, shuttlecock, etc.) very hard.

    2. to kick (a ball) with much force.

11. Hunting.

    1. to chase (game).

    2. to search (a district) for game.

12. to float (logs) down a river or stream.

13. (in mining, construction, etc.) to excavate (a mine or tunnel heading).

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verb (used without object)

• drives,
  present (3rd person singular)
• drove,
  past
• drave,
  past (Archaic)
• driven,
  past participle
• driving
  present participle

1. to cause and guide the movement of a vehicle or animal, especially to operate an automobile.

2. to go or travel in a driven vehicle.

   He drives to work with me.

3. Golf. to hit a golf ball, especially from the tee, as with a driver or driving iron.

   He drove long and straight throughout the match.

4. to strive vigorously toward a goal or objective; to work, play, or try wholeheartedly and with determination.

5. to go along before an impelling force; be impelled.

   The ship drove before the wind.

6. to rush or dash violently.

noun

• drives
  plural

1. the act of driving.

2. a trip in a vehicle, especially a short pleasure trip.

   a Sunday drive in the country.

3. an impelling along, as of game, cattle, or floating logs, in a particular direction.

4. the animals, logs, etc., thus driven.

5. Psychology. an inner urge that stimulates activity or inhibition; a basic or instinctive need: sex drive.

   the hunger drive;

   sex drive.

6. a vigorous onset or onward course toward a goal or objective.

   the drive toward the goal line.

7. a strong military offensive.

8. a united effort to accomplish some specific purpose, especially to raise money, as for a charity.

9. energy and initiative.

   a person with great drive.

   Synonyms:

   motivation, ambition, push

10. vigorous pressure or effort, as in business.

11. a road for vehicles, especially a scenic one, as in or along a park, or a short one, as an approach to a house.

12. Machinery. a driving mechanism, as of an automobile: chain drive.

    gear drive;

    chain drive.

13. Automotive. the point or points of power application to the roadway: four-wheel drive.

    front-wheel drive;

    four-wheel drive.

14. Computers. a storage device, as a flash drive, HDD, or SSD.

15. Sports.

    1. an act or instance of driving a ball, puck, shuttlecock, or the like.

    2. the flight of such a ball, puck, shuttlecock, or the like, that has been driven with much force.

16. Golf. a shot, especially with a driver or driving iron from the tee, that is intended to carry a great distance.

17. a hunt in which game is driven toward stationary hunters.

18. Electronics. excitation.

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a part of a machine or vehicle used for its propulsion.

verb phrase

1. drive at to attempt or intend to convey; allude to; suggest.

   What are you driving at?

idioms

1. let drive, to aim a blow or missile at; attack.

   He let drive at his pursuers.

drive British  

/ draɪv /

verb

1. to push, propel, or be pushed or propelled

2. to control and guide the movement of (a vehicle, draught animal, etc)

   to drive a car

3. (tr) to compel or urge to work or act, esp excessively

4. (tr) to goad or force into a specified attitude or state

   work drove him to despair

5. (tr) to cause (an object) to make or form (a hole, crack, etc)

   his blow drove a hole in the wall

6. to move or cause to move rapidly by striking or throwing with force

7. sport to hit (a ball) very hard and straight, as (in cricket) with the bat swinging more or less vertically

8. golf to strike (the ball) with a driver, as in teeing off

9. (tr)

   1. to chase (game) from cover into more open ground

   2. to search (an area) for game

10. to transport or be transported in a driven vehicle

11. (intr) to rush or dash violently, esp against an obstacle or solid object

    the waves drove against the rock

12. (tr) to carry through or transact with vigour (esp in the phrase drive a hard bargain )

13. (tr) to force (a component) into or out of its location by means of blows or a press

14. (tr) mining to excavate horizontally

15. (tr) to fell (a tree or trees) by the impact of another felled tree

16. 1. to cause to penetrate to the fullest extent

    2. to make clear by special emphasis

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noun

1. the act of driving

2. a trip or journey in a driven vehicle

3. 1. a road for vehicles, esp a private road leading to a house

   2. ( capital when part of a street name )

      Woodland Drive

4. vigorous or urgent pressure, as in business

5. a united effort, esp directed towards a common goal

   a charity drive

6. a large gathering of persons to play cards, etc See beetle drive whist drive

7. energy, ambition, or initiative

8. psychol a motive or interest, such as sex, hunger, or ambition, that actuates an organism to attain a goal

9. a sustained and powerful military offensive

10. 1. the means by which force, torque, motion, or power is transmitted in a mechanism

       fluid drive

    2. ( as modifier )

       a drive shaft

11. sport a hard straight shot or stroke

12. a search for and chasing of game towards waiting guns

13. electronics the signal applied to the input of an amplifier

Usage

What does drive mean? To drive is to cause and guide something that is moving, such as a car. To drive is also to cause to move forward by force, as when you drive flies away from your plate. Other senses of the verb drive describe moving something or someone, literally or figuratively. You can drive a hard bargain (make a good deal), drive yourself to exhaustion (work yourself too hard), drive a nail into a board (hit the nail into the board), and more. The noun drive also has many senses, related to the verb senses. A drive can be a trip in a vehicle, an inborn drive (push or urge) to succeed, and the act of driving a vehicle. Drive is also commonly used in sports, such as a drive on the golf course (a swing of the golf club, sending the ball a long way) and to drive (kick or propel) a ball down the sports field. Example: Drive down to the shop and ask for an application.

Synonym Usage

Drive, ride are used interchangeably to mean traveling in an automobile or, formerly, in a horse-drawn vehicle. These two words are not synonyms in other connections. To drive is to maneuver, guide, or steer the progress of a vehicle, animal, etc.: to drive a bus, a horse. To ride is to be carried about by an animal or be carried as a passenger in a vehicle: to ride a horse, a train, a bus.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• drivability
  noun
• predrive
  verb
• redrive
  verb
• drivable
  adjective
• driveable
  adjective
• nondrivable
  adjective
• nondriveable
  adjective
• undrivable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• drives
  plural

Participles

• driving
  present
• driven
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• drive
  simple
• drives
  simple
• have driven
  perfect
• has driven
  perfect
• am driving
  progressive
• are driving
  progressive
• is driving
  progressive
• have been driving
  perfect progressive
• has been driving
  perfect progressive

Past

• drave
  simple
• drove
  simple
• had driven
  perfect
• was driving
  progressive
• were driving
  progressive
• had been driving
  perfect progressive

Future

• will drive
  simple
• will have driven
  perfect
• will be driving
  progressive
• will have been driving
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of drive

First recorded before 900; Middle English drīven, Old English drīfan; cognate with Dutch drijven, Old Norse drīfa, Gothic dreiban, German treiben

Explanation

To drive is to operate or travel in a motor vehicle. You can drive a car, a bus, or a go-kart. Drive is one of those multi-functioning words with a lot of uses. In a very general sense it relates to pushing, or a push in a direction; drive and go go hand in hand. You could drive across country, drive cattle on a cattle drive, drive a golf ball by hitting it off a tee, drive prey into the open, clean your computer’s hard drive, or drive someone crazy. But do you really have the drive to do all that?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

drive drives drave drove driven driving

Resistance training appears to drive beneficial changes in the brain.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

The former deputy director of the UK's National Crime Agency, Roy McComb, said the group had grown globally because it had the "ambition and drive" to do so.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

But a foldable iPhone would likely be a “niche” product, according to Lee, who said high memory-chip prices could drive the price of the “18 Fold” to between $2,199 and $3,099, depending on storage capacity.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

A resident of Oxnard, Channtal Shrauger also made a bit of a drive to fete the closing restaurant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

After reading about Joey’s bravery during the war and her arrival in the US, he’s inspired to start a fund drive called Joey’s International Leprosy Fund.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

That raises the spectre of both supply difficulties and prices remaining well above pre-crisis levels, just as colder Continental weather drives up demand.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Oslo, for instance, is known for being pricey, partly because many goods are imported, which drives up the cost of groceries and dining out.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

“This agreement with Merlin ensures participating artists are credited and compensated, and that every creation drives listeners back to the original work,” Charlie Hellman, Spotify’s global head of music, said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

"Henry Pollock drives season ticket sales," added Hearn.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

She drives over to the campus gym, and I follow her inside the building and down a hallway lined with plaques that list members of the Hempstead College Athletics Hall of Fame.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Now if the Lord drave the Egyptians into the midst of the sea, and also drave Pharaoh and his host into the midst of the sea, we cannot well see how Pharaoh escaped drowning.

From The American Quarterly Review No. XVIII, June 1831 (Vol 9) by Various

Then Sir Gareth laughed, and said, "Say you so?" and therewith he drave past all those esquires and Lynette and the dwarf went with him and no one dared to stay him.

From The Story of Sir Launcelot and His Companions by Pyle, Howard

To her eyes this was infinity, and the purple mist in which the ships drave was ultimate mystery.

From Rose of Dutcher's Coolly by Garland, Hamlin

Thither rode M. Cane della Scala with his forces, and drave them out thence with great loss.

From Villani's Chronicle Being Selections from the First Nine Books of the Croniche Fiorentine of Giovanni Villani by Villani, Giovanni

Cameron also had won clear; but, seeing his brother Michael hard beset, he turned rein and drave in among the smother again, raging like the lion he was.

From The Men of the Moss-Hags Being a history of adventure taken from the papers of William Gordon of Earlstoun in Galloway by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

The dynamic drove net income to rise to $1.22 billion, or 73 cents a share, up from $811 million, or 47 cents a share, in the comparable quarter a year ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

When Tebogo failed to show, Mathipa drove away again, along the highway.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

“The water plant is currently offline for an unknown reason,” read a mass text message sent to locals as an outside specialist drove to Braham to investigate the issue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Disappointing performances by “Supergirl” and “The Bride!,” drove down quarterly theatrical revenue by 46%.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

It drove Camille nuts, but I turned my phone volume up overnight so I wouldn’t miss a message from her.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Zoox’s vehicles are built from the ground up and can’t be directly driven by a human.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The pricing strategy was partly driven by CXMT’s tight supply and higher production costs compared with foreign competitors, they said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

"Motorcycles remain more emotionally driven purchases than cars. Heritage, racing history and brand prestige still matter much more, giving established Japanese and European manufacturers a stronger defensive position," Russo said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

It may also suggest that the gains are being driven by something wider than the AI trade, including solid earnings and a still-growing economy.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 9, 2026

Daniel’s and my definition of share was that, because we were part owners, she should have driven us everywhere we wanted to go, every time we wanted to go anywhere.

From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen

Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo said parts of the Mediterranean and Atlantic were unusually warm but the developing El Nino "is probably the driving force" behind the record sea temperatures.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

And at a time when nostalgia is driving much of TV programming, the style’s familiarity may be a feature, not a bug.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

They are spending the days before the eclipse driving round eastern parts of Iceland to go hiking and camping.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

China’s exports have surged this year, driving its economic growth while threatening to exacerbate tensions with trading partners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

“I don’t think I’d better do any driving. Papa lets me drive our old mules once in a while but I don’t know about driving these mares. They’re kinda spooky, you know.”

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• cruise
• drag
• fly
• guide
• operate
• propel
• push
• ride
• run
• send
• speed
• spin
• start
• steer
• transport
• travel
• turn