drive

American  

[drahyv] / draɪv /

verb (used with object)

drives, present (3rd person singular) drove, past drave, past driven, past participle driving present participle

1. to send, expel, or otherwise cause to move by force or compulsion: to drive back an attacking army;

   to drive away the flies;

   to drive back an attacking army;

   to drive a person to desperation.

   Synonyms:

   force, push

2. to cause and guide the movement of (a vehicle, an animal, etc.): to drive a mule.

   to drive a car;

   to drive a mule.

3. to convey in a vehicle.

   She drove them to the station.

4. to force to work or act.

   He drove the workers until they collapsed.

5. to impel; constrain; urge; compel.

6. to carry (business, an agreement, etc.) vigorously through.

   He drove a hard bargain.

7. to keep (machinery) going.

8. Baseball.

   1. to cause the advance of (a base runner) by hitting a fair ball.

      Another blast off of Miller’s bat drives Rojas from first base all the way to third.

   2. to cause (a run) to be scored by hitting a fair ball.

      She drove in two runs in the sixth inning.

9. Golf. to hit (a golf ball), especially from the tee, as with a driver or driving iron.

   She drove the ball within ten feet of the pin.

10. Sports.

    1. to hit or propel (a ball, puck, shuttlecock, etc.) very hard.

    2. to kick (a ball) with much force.

11. Hunting.

    1. to chase (game).

    2. to search (a district) for game.

12. to float (logs) down a river or stream.

13. (in mining, construction, etc.) to excavate (a mine or tunnel heading).

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verb (used without object)

drives, present (3rd person singular) drove, past drave, past driven, past participle driving present participle

1. to cause and guide the movement of a vehicle or animal, especially to operate an automobile.

2. to go or travel in a driven vehicle.

   He drives to work with me.

3. Golf. to hit a golf ball, especially from the tee, as with a driver or driving iron.

   He drove long and straight throughout the match.

4. to strive vigorously toward a goal or objective; to work, play, or try wholeheartedly and with determination.

5. to go along before an impelling force; be impelled.

   The ship drove before the wind.

6. to rush or dash violently.

noun

drives plural

1. the act of driving.

2. a trip in a vehicle, especially a short pleasure trip.

   a Sunday drive in the country.

3. an impelling along, as of game, cattle, or floating logs, in a particular direction.

4. the animals, logs, etc., thus driven.

5. Psychology. an inner urge that stimulates activity or inhibition; a basic or instinctive need: sex drive.

   the hunger drive;

   sex drive.

6. a vigorous onset or onward course toward a goal or objective.

   the drive toward the goal line.

7. a strong military offensive.

8. a united effort to accomplish some specific purpose, especially to raise money, as for a charity.

9. energy and initiative.

   a person with great drive.

   Synonyms:

   motivation, ambition, push

10. vigorous pressure or effort, as in business.

11. a road for vehicles, especially a scenic one, as in or along a park, or a short one, as an approach to a house.

12. Machinery. a driving mechanism, as of an automobile: chain drive.

    gear drive;

    chain drive.

13. Automotive. the point or points of power application to the roadway: four-wheel drive.

    front-wheel drive;

    four-wheel drive.

14. Computers. a storage device, as a flash drive, HDD, or SSD.

15. Sports.

    1. an act or instance of driving a ball, puck, shuttlecock, or the like.

    2. the flight of such a ball, puck, shuttlecock, or the like, that has been driven with much force.

16. Golf. a shot, especially with a driver or driving iron from the tee, that is intended to carry a great distance.

17. a hunt in which game is driven toward stationary hunters.

18. Electronics. excitation.

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a part of a machine or vehicle used for its propulsion.

verb phrase

1. drive at to attempt or intend to convey; allude to; suggest.

   What are you driving at?

idioms

1. let drive, to aim a blow or missile at; attack.

   He let drive at his pursuers.

drive British  

/ draɪv /

verb

1. to push, propel, or be pushed or propelled

2. to control and guide the movement of (a vehicle, draught animal, etc)

   to drive a car

3. (tr) to compel or urge to work or act, esp excessively

4. (tr) to goad or force into a specified attitude or state

   work drove him to despair

5. (tr) to cause (an object) to make or form (a hole, crack, etc)

   his blow drove a hole in the wall

6. to move or cause to move rapidly by striking or throwing with force

7. sport to hit (a ball) very hard and straight, as (in cricket) with the bat swinging more or less vertically

8. golf to strike (the ball) with a driver, as in teeing off

9. (tr)

   1. to chase (game) from cover into more open ground

   2. to search (an area) for game

10. to transport or be transported in a driven vehicle

11. (intr) to rush or dash violently, esp against an obstacle or solid object

    the waves drove against the rock

12. (tr) to carry through or transact with vigour (esp in the phrase drive a hard bargain )

13. (tr) to force (a component) into or out of its location by means of blows or a press

14. (tr) mining to excavate horizontally

15. (tr) to fell (a tree or trees) by the impact of another felled tree

16. 1. to cause to penetrate to the fullest extent

    2. to make clear by special emphasis

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noun

1. the act of driving

2. a trip or journey in a driven vehicle

3. 1. a road for vehicles, esp a private road leading to a house

   2. ( capital when part of a street name )

      Woodland Drive

4. vigorous or urgent pressure, as in business

5. a united effort, esp directed towards a common goal

   a charity drive

6. a large gathering of persons to play cards, etc See beetle drive whist drive

7. energy, ambition, or initiative

8. psychol a motive or interest, such as sex, hunger, or ambition, that actuates an organism to attain a goal

9. a sustained and powerful military offensive

10. 1. the means by which force, torque, motion, or power is transmitted in a mechanism

       fluid drive

    2. ( as modifier )

       a drive shaft

11. sport a hard straight shot or stroke

12. a search for and chasing of game towards waiting guns

13. electronics the signal applied to the input of an amplifier

Usage

What does drive mean? To drive is to cause and guide something that is moving, such as a car. To drive is also to cause to move forward by force, as when you drive flies away from your plate. Other senses of the verb drive describe moving something or someone, literally or figuratively. You can drive a hard bargain (make a good deal), drive yourself to exhaustion (work yourself too hard), drive a nail into a board (hit the nail into the board), and more. The noun drive also has many senses, related to the verb senses. A drive can be a trip in a vehicle, an inborn drive (push or urge) to succeed, and the act of driving a vehicle. Drive is also commonly used in sports, such as a drive on the golf course (a swing of the golf club, sending the ball a long way) and to drive (kick or propel) a ball down the sports field. Example: Drive down to the shop and ask for an application.

Synonym Usage

Drive, ride are used interchangeably to mean traveling in an automobile or, formerly, in a horse-drawn vehicle. These two words are not synonyms in other connections. To drive is to maneuver, guide, or steer the progress of a vehicle, animal, etc.: to drive a bus, a horse. To ride is to be carried about by an animal or be carried as a passenger in a vehicle: to ride a horse, a train, a bus.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• drivability
  noun
• predrive
  verb
• redrive
  verb
• drivable
  adjective
• driveable
  adjective
• nondrivable
  adjective
• nondriveable
  adjective
• undrivable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• drives
  plural

Participles

• driving
  present
• driven
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• drive
  simple
• drives
  simple
• have driven
  perfect
• has driven
  perfect
• am driving
  progressive
• are driving
  progressive
• is driving
  progressive
• have been driving
  perfect progressive
• has been driving
  perfect progressive

Past

• drave
  simple
• drove
  simple
• had driven
  perfect
• was driving
  progressive
• were driving
  progressive
• had been driving
  perfect progressive

Future

• will drive
  simple
• will have driven
  perfect
• will be driving
  progressive
• will have been driving
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of drive

First recorded before 900; Middle English drīven, Old English drīfan; cognate with Dutch drijven, Old Norse drīfa, Gothic dreiban, German treiben

Explanation

To drive is to operate or travel in a motor vehicle. You can drive a car, a bus, or a go-kart. Drive is one of those multi-functioning words with a lot of uses. In a very general sense it relates to pushing, or a push in a direction; drive and go go hand in hand. You could drive across country, drive cattle on a cattle drive, drive a golf ball by hitting it off a tee, drive prey into the open, clean your computer’s hard drive, or drive someone crazy. But do you really have the drive to do all that?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

drive drives drave drove driven driving

Those items are reminders of the work ethic, drive and connection to family that defined Kent’s trek from Huntington Beach to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

Buoyed by the development, the small southern African country is determined to go much further in its drive for local processing of its resources, even eyeing its own production of rechargeable lithium batteries.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

Few doubt Fedorov's commitment, imagination and drive, but some question whether his outsized reputation is fully justified.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Tariffing generics—most of which are produced overseas—will drive up prices and result in shortages of essential medicines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

My father was even criticized for letting me drive his sled to the ice, to help him bring back the seals he took.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

Tourists told the BBC of emergency alerts in the middle of the night, desperate drives just metres from six-storey high flames and the sight of people flocking to beaches with their suitcases.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

“Warsh is not the guy who drives the bus anymore. We have 12 independent voters. The chairman is one of 12,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

The latest blows came Thursday as Google parent Alphabet and Tesla came under scrutiny for massive capital spending drives.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

Cartier drives the lion’s share of sales at the jewelry maisons unit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

“The sound drives some people barmy. Especially my dad.”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Thither rode M. Cane della Scala with his forces, and drave them out thence with great loss.

From Villani's Chronicle Being Selections from the First Nine Books of the Croniche Fiorentine of Giovanni Villani by Villani, Giovanni

She drave at the rock with stern sails set; Crash went the masts in twain; She staggered back with her mortal blow, Then leaped at it again.

From The Land of Song, Book II For lower grammar grades by Various

You never found the Lord ought but kind to them 'at 'E drave t' devils out of.

From Windyridge by Riley, W.

So when all was ready for the encounter, as aforesaid, each knight shouted aloud and drave spur to horse and each charged against the other with all the fury of two wild bulls.

From The Story of Sir Launcelot and His Companions by Pyle, Howard

God had given her to a rough old fellow like him, one who had endured the trampling of the threshing floor as the car oxen drave round.

From The Firebrand by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

“I drove past a couple days ago and they looked orange,” the 26-year-old said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

The vehicles drove right over his fields at speed, tearing up the crops and skirting the fence by the family's garden.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

In a statement published in the Virginian-Pilot, Truelove said he drove to Granby High School in Norfolk because he thought bullies were threatening the school.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

The streets were deserted, metal shutters drawn and houses closed up, as wildfires drove residents and tourists away during the peak summer season.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

The smell of roast meat drove all other thoughts away.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Brown tree snakes have driven many of Guam's native forest birds to local extinction, and they cause hundreds of power outages each year by climbing utility poles and electrical equipment.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026

"But whatever the reason, our results suggest that it is not driven by greater engagement in individual climate action."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026

His decision and its timing will likely be driven by how quickly and how much he can do with it.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

The profit decline was driven primarily by $1.8 billion in pretax special items, the company said, including a $746 million loss related to its agreement with Britain’s BT Group to combine their respective international operations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Or as driven and charismatic as twenty-one-year-old Lilya Litvyak?

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Often ideas come to her while she is driving, and she will leave herself a voice note.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

The field of lightweight, mid-engine sports cars is shrinking as manufacturers move on and computers take over more of the driving.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

O’Regan said he didn’t think there was just “one smoking gun” driving the declines.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

And unlike cinema’s previous AI creations, Kakeru has no driving curiosity concerning whether he has a soul.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

He’d pulled off his driving gloves to shake hands with Dad.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Related Words

• cruise
• drag
• fly
• guide
• operate
• propel
• push
• ride
• run
• send
• speed
• spin
• start
• steer
• transport
• travel
• turn