drive-in

[drahyv-in]

noun

1. a place of business or public facility designed to accommodate patrons who sit in their automobiles, as a movie theater with an outdoor screen facing the parking area or a restaurant where servers bring food out to be eaten in the parked automobiles.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of such an establishment.

   Drive-in business far exceeded walk-in business.

drive-in

adjective

1. denoting a public facility or service designed to be used by patrons seated in their cars

   a drive-in bank

noun

1. a cinema designed to be used in such a manner

Word History and Origins

Origin of drive-in¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1925–30; noun, adjective use of verb phrase drive in

Example Sentences

So, having briefly lived some version of the 1950s teen dream—drive-in movies, car hops—I reverted to being an immature 14-year-old in the brain class.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Film buffs sit snugly in cars watching a drive-in movie, munching popcorn on a lovely recent fall night.

Read more on Barron's

The hayseed county that begat Richard Nixon and the boysenberry also bestowed the Righteous Brothers’ “blue-eyed soul” and the drive-in church upon the world.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Built on the site of California’s first drive-in movie theater, the center played prominent roles in the 1995 film “Clueless” and the video for musician Tom Petty’s 1989 hit “Free Fallin’.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Watching it, I felt as snug as being nestled in the backseat of my grandparents’ car at the drive-in.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amphitheater 
• arena 
• auditorium 
• cinema 
• concert hall www.thesaurus.com
• drama 
• hall 
• house 
• movie 
• movie house www.thesaurus.com
• opera house 
• playhouse 
• room 
• scene 
• site 
• theatre