driveway
Americannoun
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driveways
plural
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a road, especially a private one, leading from a street or other thoroughfare to a building, house, garage, etc.
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any road for driving on.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of driveway
Explanation
A driveway is a small private road in front of a house or garage. If there's no parking allowed on your street, you can tell visiting friends to park their cars in your driveway. Some driveways are only a few feet long, while others stretch for many yards to houses set far back from the public road. Homeowners are responsible for their driveways, including plowing or shoveling the snow that falls in the driveway during the winter months. You can also call your driveway a drive, and both words emerged in the late 19th century.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Set back from the main road behind a gated driveway, the dwelling comes with close to 10 acres, ensuring that the A-list duo were able to enjoy ample privacy whenever they were at home.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
Plastic storage bins were visible in the driveway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Ryan Collins had covered a motorcycle with a tarp and parked in the driveway of a house that belonged to a woman with whom he was spending the night.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Fraser said one way to make a vehicle harder to steal was driving it on to a driveway rather than reversing on to it.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
“Well done, you two,” Mim said as they turned off the road and onto a long winding driveway that led up a steep hill into the woods.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Most acts play on porches while others jam in yards or on driveways, within one of the area’s small parks or at a neighborhood business.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
He added: "The streets are littered with plastics and broken glass. I pity neighbours of the park and surrounding streets who see their driveways and gardens used as toilets."
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Heated driveways cost anywhere from $4,800 and $15,000 to install, and an additional $50 to $300 per month in utility bills to operate, according to HeatTrak, a company that manufactures heated snow- and ice-melting mats.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Courts can be set up on various surfaces, including driveways.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The sky was a perfect blue, but everywhere else you looked, snow had covered rooftops, parked cars, and driveways.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
