driver

[ drahy-ver ]

noun

1. a person or thing that drives.
2. a person who drives a vehicle; coachman, chauffeur, etc.
3. a person who drives an animal or animals, as a drover or cowboy.
4. Also called number one wood. Golf. a club with a wooden head whose face has almost no slope, for hitting long, low drives from the tee.
5. Machinery.
   1. a part that transmits force or motion.
   2. the member of a pair of connected pulleys, gears, etc., that is nearer to the power source.
6. Computers. software or hardware that controls the interface between a computer and a peripheral device.
7. Railroads. driving wheel ( def 2 ).
8. British. a locomotive engineer.
9. Audio.
   1. the part of a loudspeaker that transforms the electrical signal into sound.
   2. the entire loudspeaker.
10. Nautical.
    1. a jib-headed spanker sail.
    2. a designation given to one of the masts abaft the mizzen on a sailing vessel having more than three masts, either the fifth or sixth from forward. Compare pusher ( def 4 ), spanker ( def 1b ).

driver

/ ˈdraɪvə /

noun

1. a person who drives a vehicle
2. in the driver's seat
   in a position of control
3. a person who drives animals
4. a mechanical component that exerts a force on another to produce motion
5. golf a club, a No. 1 wood, with a large head and deep face for tee shots
6. electronics a circuit whose output provides the input of another circuit
7. computing a computer program that controls a device
8. something that creates and fuels activity, or gives force or impetus

Derived Forms

• ˈdriverless, adjective

Other Words From

• driv·er·less adjective
• non·driv·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of driver¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, driver is from the Middle English word drivere. See drive, -er ¹

Idioms and Phrases

see backseat driver ; in the driver's seat .

Example Sentences

Looking at cost drivers and how they link with revenue is a strategic exercise in itself, as it highlights what elements clients are willing to pay for, where to optimize costs, or what new services can appear.

From Search Engine Land

Its Tasty and Goodful verticals have been the primary drivers of the company’s licensing business, with a line of cookware under Tasty that’s sold at Walmart.

From Digiday

For starters, it’s not Uber that owns its cars—its drivers do.

From Singularity Hub 

That included training dogs to sniff out dead wild boar, stockpiling electric fences along the eastern border and urging drivers not to toss ham-sandwich scraps out the window.

From Fortune

So, you’d have buses that would— and the bus drivers would be tested, and the buses would be wiped down.

From Freakonomics

Thankfully there were no casualties—the driver managed to stop the train immediately.

From The Daily Beast

He also was working to recruit Castro as a driver for a drug load.

From The Daily Beast

So I asked the driver to honk the horn, which he does, and Rod looks over.

From The Daily Beast

Abraham, a yellow cab driver and student, feels that blacks are targeted unfairly by the police.

From The Daily Beast

Public employee unions are a little-acknowledged driver of this conflict.

From The Daily Beast

But, when the car came thundering down, it was crammed to the step; with a melancholy gesture, the driver declined her signal.

From Project Gutenberg

The driver must at all times have his car under reasonable control so that he can stop in time to avoid injury.

From Project Gutenberg

If there be no facilities for stopping for the night, a driver is not negligent should he proceed through the fog.

From Project Gutenberg

It was being driven very rapidly, but very skillfully, and the car was empty save for the driver.

From Project Gutenberg

The carriages are half-covered ones, with seats for two, and are drawn by a pair of mules, on one of which the driver rides.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• chauffeur
• jockey
• motorist
• operator
• trainer