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.

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.

driver

/ ˈdraɪvə /

noun

1. a person who drives a vehicle

2. 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

Other Word Forms

• driverless adjective
• nondriver 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

"But another important and growing driver is mining and extractives for gold, for coal, and increasingly for the metals and minerals required for the renewable energy transition," Matson said.

Read more on Barron's

Artificial intelligence enthusiasm has been the main driver of the rally—one look at the Magnificent Seven stocks shows that—but a resilient economy and strong earnings growth have also helped.

Read more on Barron's

Its F-150 pickup, the top-selling truck in the U.S. and the automaker’s main profit driver, is one of the industry’s biggest users of aluminum.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But with the driver still failing to provide any plausible explanation, officers took the same model of van back to the scene, to retrace his route.

Read more on BBC

In Solow’s model, the big driver of growth was technological change, but it was exogenous.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• chauffeur 
• jockey 
• motorist 
• operator 
• trainer