drive

[ drahyv ]
See synonyms for drive on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),drove [drohv] /droʊv/ or (Archaic) drave [dreyv], /dreɪv/, driv·en [driv-uhn], /ˈdrɪv ən/, driv·ing.
  1. to send, expel, or otherwise cause to move by force or compulsion: to drive away the flies;to drive back an attacking army;to drive a person to desperation.

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

  1. to convey in a vehicle: She drove them to the station.

  2. to force to work or act: He drove the workers until they collapsed.

  3. to carry (business, an agreement, etc.) vigorously through: He drove a hard bargain.

  4. to keep (machinery) going.

  5. Baseball.

    • 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.

    • to cause (a run) to be scored by hitting a fair ball: She drove in two runs in the sixth inning.

  6. 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.

  7. Sports.

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

    • to kick (a ball) with much force.

  8. Hunting.

    • to chase (game).

    • to search (a district) for game.

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

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

verb (used without object),drove [drohv] /droʊv/ or (Archaic) drave [dreyv], /dreɪv/, driv·en [driv-uhn], /ˈdrɪv ən/, driv·ing.
  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.

  1. 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.

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

  3. to go along before an impelling force; be impelled: The ship drove before the wind.

  4. to rush or dash violently.

noun
  1. the act of driving.

  2. a trip in a vehicle, especially a short pleasure trip: a Sunday drive in the country.

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

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

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

  4. a vigorous onset or onward course toward a goal or objective: the drive toward the goal line.

  5. a strong military offensive.

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

  7. energy and initiative: a person with great drive.

  8. vigorous pressure or effort, as in business.

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

  10. Machinery. a driving mechanism, as of an automobile: gear drive;chain drive.

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

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

  13. Sports.

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

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

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

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

  16. Electronics. excitation (def. 5).

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

Verb Phrases
  1. drive at, to attempt or intend to convey; allude to; suggest: What are you driving at?

Idioms about drive

  1. let drive, to aim a blow or missile at; attack: He let drive at his pursuers.

Origin of drive

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English drīven, Old English drīfan; cognate with Dutch drijven, Old Norse drīfa, Gothic dreiban, German treiben

synonym study For drive

2, 15. 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 words for drive

Other words from drive

  • driv·a·ble, drive·a·ble, adjective
  • non·driv·a·ble, adjective
  • non·drive·a·ble, adjective
  • pre·drive, verb, pre·drove, pre·driv·en, pre·driv·ing.
  • re·drive, verb, re·drove, re·driv·en, re·driv·ing.
  • un·driv·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use drive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for drive

drive

/ (draɪv) /


verbdrives, driving, drove (drəʊv) or driven (ˈdrɪvən)
  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

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

  2. (tr) to goad or force into a specified attitude or state: work drove him to despair

  3. (tr) to cause (an object) to make or form (a hole, crack, etc): his blow drove a hole in the wall

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

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

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

  7. (tr)

    • to chase (game) from cover into more open ground

    • to search (an area) for game

  8. to transport or be transported in a driven vehicle

  9. (intr) to rush or dash violently, esp against an obstacle or solid object: the waves drove against the rock

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

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

  12. (tr) mining to excavate horizontally

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

  14. drive home

    • to cause to penetrate to the fullest extent

    • to make clear by special emphasis

noun
  1. the act of driving

  2. a trip or journey in a driven vehicle

    • a road for vehicles, esp a private road leading to a house

    • (capital when part of a street name): Woodland Drive

  1. vigorous or urgent pressure, as in business

  2. a united effort, esp directed towards a common goal: a charity drive

  3. British a large gathering of persons to play cards, etc: See beetle drive, whist drive

  4. energy, ambition, or initiative

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

  6. a sustained and powerful military offensive

    • the means by which force, torque, motion, or power is transmitted in a mechanism: fluid drive

    • (as modifier): a drive shaft

  7. sport a hard straight shot or stroke

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

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

Origin of drive

1
Old English drīfan; related to Old Frisian drīva, Old Norse drīfa, Gothic dreiban, Old High German trīban

Derived forms of drive

  • drivable or driveable, adjective
  • drivability or driveability, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012