drive-through

American  

[drahyv-throo] / ˈdraɪvˌθru /

Informal, drive-thru

noun

1. the act of driving through a specified locality or place, especially driving into a place of business, completing a transaction from one's car, and driving out.

   a quick drive-through of Beverly Hills;

   The bank has outside tellers' windows to accept deposits by drive-through.

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adjective

1. designed to accommodate or arranged for a drive-through.

   This gas station has a drive-through car wash.

Etymology

Origin of drive-through

First recorded in 1970–75; noun and adjectival use of verb phrase drive through

Example Sentences

Niccol has pledged to speed up service, filling both in-store and drive-through orders within four minutes.

From The Wall Street Journal

He talked to everybody from drive-through attendants to parents in the pickup line after school.

From Literature

The friend who shows up with a Frosty and a sleeve of fries because you were already at the drive-through.

From Salon

Jose Juan Rangel and his wife, Maria Vargas Luna, pulled up to a McDonald’s drive-through nearly two years ago to order some food when they were approached by a person asking for change.

From Los Angeles Times

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that on March 9, 2024, McDonald’s employees let Charles Cornelius Green Jr. approach vehicles at a McDonald’s drive-through on North Soto Street near Boyle Heights and ask for money.

From Los Angeles Times