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

You can drive faster if you want to.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

"Our staff were able to uplift the seal and drive it to a safe place where it was released into the water," Senior Sergeant Miriam Bentley from Wellington Police said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

I don’t drive a flashy car or dress extravagantly, and we both keep a pretty low profile.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

The Broncos replied with quarterback Bo Nix reaching into the endzone after another long drive to put the hosts back in front.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

While I’m fiddling with the radio, a traffic report comes in about how backed up the street that we normally drive on is.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

But the real hero was Jackson, who led two scoring drives in a 90-second span—and played like a vintage version of himself coming off the most disappointing season of his career.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Kang noted the influence of South Korean dramas smuggled in on USB drives, finding them "so refreshing and more credible than North Korea state propaganda".

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

The Ducks would score on six of their last seven drives, almost all of which featured their backup quarterback at the helm.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

States across the US celebrated Dolly Parton Day with karaoke, pink lights, live music and book drives.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

The stink almost drives him out of the room.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

You never found the Lord ought but kind to them 'at 'E drave t' devils out of.

From Windyridge by W. Riley

And Sir Bors and Sir Ector and Sir Lionel drave three at once at Sir Launcelot and he drave against them—one against three.

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

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 S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

God had given her to a rough old fellow like him, one who had endured the trampling of the threshing floor as the car oxen drave round.

From The Firebrand by S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

It is too bad—I loved oo so— That oo should die so soon, An' to the told, told drave must do This velly afternoon!

From The Zankiwank and The Bletherwitch An Original Fantastic Fairy Extravaganza by S. J. Adair Fitzgerald

With 42 seconds left, Stafford drove the Rams from their 33-yard line to the Broncos’ 14 in 40 seconds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Deep floodwaters in Bangkok drove thousands of residents into shelters as others scrambled to buy groceries or dry out their homes on Sunday after days of heavy rain inundated markets, roads and residences.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

Loneliness is what drove her to seek out a chatbot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

Behind the top two, Red Bull's Isack Hadjar drove a strong race to the final podium position on his return after missing three races with a broken wrist.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

He made it say "Clankety-clank" as he drove it down the hall at the end of the procession.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

The condition is hard to treat because it is driven by many different factors - including aging, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026

The recent rally has been driven by a narrow group of stocks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

"If they let their people interact with the outside world, they are highly likely to be overthrown, and maybe killed or driven into exile," he added.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Speaking to the BBC last month, he said his actions were driven by public-health concerns and that businesses complying with rules had nothing to fear.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

With each pound of the piano keys, a sharp stab was driven through my chest.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Gorti has spent decades investigating the evolution and dispersal of protoplanetary disks, including the role of ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from young stars in driving photoevaporative winds.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026

Adobe said consumers continue to shop for the holidays earlier, with Amazon’s Prime Day sales event in October driving further discounts across U.S. retailers well ahead of November.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

It could be a last show for Saint Laurent's Belgian designer Anthony Vaccarello, who has been the driving force behind the brand's success for the past decade but is reportedly heading for the exit.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

The resident said she was driving home in the early hours of Sunday morning when she saw people in the road.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

“There’s no sense driving you home if we’re all going to the fair tomorrow. I can call your parents and introduce myself, if you like.”

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Related Words

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