driving force

Idioms  

1. The impetus, power, or energy behind something in motion, as in He was clearly the driving force in the new administration. This term transfers the force that sets in motion an engine or vehicle to other enterprises. Ralph Waldo Emerson was among the first to use it figuratively (English Traits, 1856): “The ability of its journals is the driving force.”

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

driving force

Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo said parts of the Mediterranean and Atlantic were unusually warm but the developing El Nino "is probably the driving force" behind the record sea temperatures.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

The debacle was a driving force in the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which tightened regulations over governance, accounting and related-party transactions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

In the view of Callie Cox, chief market strategist at Ritholtz Wealth Management, investors have to brace for more market swings, with inflation back as the driving force of the broader market from now on.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

Mamdani spent his mayoral campaign last year beating the drum on affordability, singling out the high cost of housing as a driving force behind people leaving the city.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

When historical or archaeological dates are examined in detail, they fail to support the view of irrigation as the driving force for state formation.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond