drive

[ drahyv ]

/ draɪv /

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See synonyms for: drive / driven / drives / driving on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), drove

[drohv] /droʊv/ or (Archaic) drave

[dreyv], /dreɪv/, driv·en

[driv-uhn], /ˈdrɪv ən/, driv·ing.

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.

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

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

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

to impel; constrain; urge; compel.

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

to keep (machinery) going.

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.

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.

Sports.

to hit or propel (a ball, puck, shuttlecock, etc.) very hard.
to kick (a ball) with much force.

Hunting.

to chase (game).
to search (a district) for game.

to float (logs) down a river or stream.

(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.

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

to go or travel in a driven vehicle: He drives to work with me.

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.

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

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

to rush or dash violently.

noun

the act of driving.

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

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

the animals, logs, etc., thus driven.

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

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

a strong military offensive.

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

energy and initiative: a person with great drive.

vigorous pressure or effort, as in business.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

a hunt in which game is driven toward stationary hunters.

Electronics. excitation (def. 5).

adjective

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

Verb Phrases

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

OTHER WORDS FOR drive

1 push, force.

28 push; ambition, motivation.

See synonyms for drive on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about drive

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

Origin of drive

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 FROM drive

driv·a·ble, drive·a·ble, adjectivenon·driv·a·ble, adjectivenon·drive·a·ble, adjectivepre·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. 2023

How to use drive in a sentence

So Niu, his colleague Hang Sun and sensory ecologist Martin Stevens of the University of Exeter in England decided to see if humans might be driving the evolution of the plants’ camouflage.
These plants seem like they’re trying to hide from people|Jonathan Lambert|November 20, 2020|Science News
My folks never sniffed it out, but that was me and my first ski buddy skipping high school and driving to Vermont to boot up in his 1977 Lemans.
How COVID-19 Could Actually Be Good for Skiing|Marc Peruzzi|November 20, 2020|Outside Online
Working parentsSchool and childcare closures have driven millions of women out of the workforce, with unforeseeable economic consequences.
The biggest risks and opportunities for investors in 2021|matthewheimer|November 20, 2020|Fortune
Being able to focus on an older audience with deeper pockets could drive growth still further.
‘They wanted to unload it bad’: Why HuffPost made sense for BuzzFeed – and Verizon Media Group|Max Willens|November 20, 2020|Digiday

Team Brownsville co-founder Mike Benavides on Tuesday told the Blade during a telephone interview that his group paid for a hotel room for the younger brother and drove him to the hospital each day to visit his brother.
Texas activists rally behind human trafficking victims|Michael K. Lavers|November 18, 2020|Washington Blade

British Dictionary definitions for drive

drive

/ (draɪv) /

verb drives, driving, drove (drəʊv) or driven (ˈdrɪvən)

to push, propel, or be pushed or propelled

to control and guide the movement of (a vehicle, draught animal, etc)to drive a car

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

(tr) to goad or force into a specified attitude or statework drove him to despair

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

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

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

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

(tr)

to chase (game) from cover into more open ground
to search (an area) for game

to transport or be transported in a driven vehicle

(intr) to rush or dash violently, esp against an obstacle or solid objectthe waves drove against the rock

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

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

(tr) mining to excavate horizontally

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

drive home

to cause to penetrate to the fullest extent
to make clear by special emphasis

noun

the act of driving

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

vigorous or urgent pressure, as in business

a united effort, esp directed towards a common goala charity drive

British a large gathering of persons to play cards, etcSee beetle drive, whist drive

energy, ambition, or initiative

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

a sustained and powerful military offensive

the means by which force, torque, motion, or power is transmitted in a mechanismfluid drive
(as modifier)a drive shaft

sport a hard straight shot or stroke

a search for and chasing of game towards waiting guns

electronics the signal applied to the input of an amplifier

Derived forms of drive

drivable or driveable, adjectivedrivability or driveability, noun

Word Origin for drive

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

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

drive

OTHER WORDS FOR drive

Idioms about drive

Origin of drive

synonym study for drive

OTHER WORDS FROM drive

Words related to drive

How to use drive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for drive

Derived forms of drive

Word Origin for drive