driver

[ drahy-ver ]

/ ˈdraɪ vər /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: driver / drivers on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person or thing that drives.

a person who drives a vehicle; coachman, chauffeur, etc.

a person who drives an animal or animals, as a drover or cowboy.

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.

Machinery.

a part that transmits force or motion.
the member of a pair of connected pulleys, gears, etc., that is nearer to the power source.

Computers. software or hardware that controls the interface between a computer and a peripheral device.

Railroads. driving wheel (def. 2).

British. a locomotive engineer.

Audio.

the part of a loudspeaker that transforms the electrical signal into sound.
the entire loudspeaker.

Nautical.

a jib-headed spanker sail.
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).

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

Origin of driver

First recorded in 1350–1400, driver is from the Middle English word drivere.See drive, -er¹

OTHER WORDS FROM driver

driv·er·less, adjectivenon·driv·er, noun

Words nearby driver

drive-in, drivel, driveline, driven, drive-off, driver, driver ant, driver ed, driver education, driverless, driver's license

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use driver in a sentence

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.
How would an SEO agency be built today? Part 2: Current business model(s)|Sponsored Content: SEOmonitor|September 16, 2020|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.
‘Finding their sweet spot’: How publishers are quickly becoming large global licensors|Kayleigh Barber|September 14, 2020|Digiday
For starters, it’s not Uber that owns its cars—its drivers do.
Uber Wants to Go All-Electric by 2030. It Won’t Be Easy|Vanessa Bates Ramirez|September 10, 2020|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.
Europe is on high alert after a deadly swine virus emerges in Germany|Bernhard Warner|September 10, 2020|Fortune

So, you’d have buses that would— and the bus drivers would be tested, and the buses would be wiped down.
Why Can’t Schools Get What the N.F.L. Has? (Ep. 431)|Stephen J. Dubner|September 10, 2020|Freakonomics
Thankfully there were no casualties—the driver managed to stop the train immediately.
Is Putin Turning to Terrorism in Ukraine?|Anna Nemtsova|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He also was working to recruit Castro as a driver for a drug load.
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro|Bill Conroy|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
So I asked the driver to honk the horn, which he does, and Rod looks over.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Abraham, a yellow cab driver and student, feels that blacks are targeted unfairly by the police.
Ground Zero of the NYPD Slowdown|Batya Ungar-Sargon|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Public employee unions are a little-acknowledged driver of this conflict.
How Public Sector Unions Divide the Democrats|Daniel DiSalvo|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But, when the car came thundering down, it was crammed to the step; with a melancholy gesture, the driver declined her signal.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
The driver must at all times have his car under reasonable control so that he can stop in time to avoid injury.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
If there be no facilities for stopping for the night, a driver is not negligent should he proceed through the fog.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
It was being driven very rapidly, but very skillfully, and the car was empty save for the driver.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn|Margaret Penrose
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.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer

British Dictionary definitions for driver

driver

/ (ˈdraɪvə) /

noun

a person who drives a vehicle

in the driver's seat in a position of control

a person who drives animals

a mechanical component that exerts a force on another to produce motion

golf a club, a No. 1 wood, with a large head and deep face for tee shots

electronics a circuit whose output provides the input of another circuit

computing a computer program that controls a device

something that creates and fuels activity, or gives force or impetus

Derived forms of driver

driverless, adjective

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with driver

driver

see backseat driver; in the driver's seat.

driver

Origin of driver

OTHER WORDS FROM driver

Words nearby driver

Words related to driver

How to use driver in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for driver

Derived forms of driver

Other Idioms and Phrases with driver