driven
Americanverb
adjective
-
being under compulsion, as to succeed or excel.
a driven young man who was fiercely competitive.
-
controlled or propelled by something specified (used in combination).
a market-driven approach to retaining talent; data-driven business strategies; a water pump that is solar driven.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of driven
First recorded in 1300–50, for the adjective for an earlier sense
Explanation
If you're driven, you're strongly compelled or motivated to achieve a goal. If you're a driven gymnast, you spend hours in the gym each night perfecting your balance beam routine. If you know someone who is incredibly ambitious and hard working, you can call them driven. It takes a driven student to make it through medical school, and a driven dog musher to complete the Iditarod. In other words, you need drive, or determination, to achieve these things. Driven can also mean "moved and piled into drifts by wind," often in the phrase "driven snow." When combined with another noun, it can mean "propelled or powered," as in "a wind-driven boat."
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.
Swiss banking giant UBS reported Wednesday that net profit rose 17 percent to $2.8 billion in the second quarter, driven by its investment banking arm.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The results were driven by growth across all end markets and all regions, Chief Executive Rafael Sotomayor said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
South Korea's SK hynix said Wednesday second-quarter net profit soared a whopping 1,242 percent year-on-year, driven by the artificial intelligence industry's explosive demand for its advanced memory chips.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Our performance is being driven by robust cloud data-center demand and disciplined execution, and we see the momentum continuing in 2027,” Seagate CEO Dave Mosley said in a statement.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The famous Barney Oldfield had driven this car last winter at Daytona Beach, Florida.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Definitions 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.
