to send, expel, or otherwise cause to move by force or compulsion: to drive away the flies; to drive back an attacking army; to drive a person to desperation.
2.
to cause and guide the movement of (a vehicle, an animal, etc.): 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.
a.
to cause the advance of (a base runner) by a base hit or sacrifice fly: He drove him home with a scratch single.
b.
to cause (a run) to be scored by a base hit or sacrifice fly: He drove in two runs.
9.
Golf. to hit (a golf ball), esp. from the tee, as with a driver or driving iron: She drove the ball within ten feet of the pin.
10.
Sports.
a.
to hit or propel (a ball, puck, shuttlecock, etc.) very hard.
b.
to kick (a ball) with much force.
11.
Hunting.
a.
to chase (game).
b.
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).
–verb (used without object)
14.
to cause and guide the movement of a vehicle or animal, esp. to operate an automobile.
15.
to go or travel in a driven vehicle: He drives to work with me.
16.
Golf. to hit a golf ball, esp. from the tee, as with a driver or driving iron: He drove long and straight throughout the match.
17.
to strive vigorously toward a goal or objective; to work, play, or try wholeheartedly and with determination.
18.
to go along before an impelling force; be impelled: The ship drove before the wind.
19.
to rush or dash violently.
–noun
20.
the act of driving.
21.
a trip in a vehicle, esp. a short pleasure trip: a Sunday drive in the country.
22.
an impelling along, as of game, cattle, or floating logs, in a particular direction.
23.
the animals, logs, etc., thus driven.
24.
Psychology. an inner urge that stimulates activity or inhibition; a basic or instinctive need: the hunger drive; sex drive.
25.
a vigorous onset or onward course toward a goal or objective: the drive toward the goal line.
26.
a strong military offensive.
27.
a united effort to accomplish some specific purpose, esp. to raise money, as for a charity.
28.
energy and initiative: a person with great drive.
29.
vigorous pressure or effort, as in business.
30.
a road for vehicles, esp. a scenic one, as in or along a park, or a short one, as an approach to a house.
31.
Machinery. a driving mechanism, as of an automobile: gear drive; chain drive.
32.
Automotive. the point or points of power application to the roadway: front-wheel drive; four-wheel drive.
33.
Sports.
a.
an act or instance of driving a ball, puck, shuttlecock, or the like.
b.
the flight of such a ball, puck, shuttlecock, or the like, that has been driven with much force.
34.
Golf. a shot, esp. with a driver or driving iron from the tee, that is intended to carry a great distance.
35.
a hunt in which game is driven toward stationary hunters.
noting or pertaining to a part of a machine or vehicle used for its propulsion.
—Verb phrase
38.
drive at, to attempt or intend to convey; allude to; suggest: What are you driving at?
—Idiom
39.
let drive, to aim a blow or missile at; attack: He let drive at his pursuers.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME drīven, OE drīfan; c. D drijven, ON drīfa, Goth dreiban, G treiben]
—Related forms
driv·a·ble, drive·a·ble, adjective
—Synonyms 1. push, force. 2, 15.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. 28. push; ambition, motivation.
To push, propel, or press onward forcibly; urge forward: drove the horses into the corral.
To repulse or put to flight by force or influence: drove the attackers away; drove out any thought of failure.
To guide, control, or direct (a vehicle).
To convey or transport in a vehicle: drove the children to school.
To traverse in a vehicle: drive the freeways to work.
To supply the motive force or power to and cause to function: Steam drives the engine.
To cause or sustain, as if by supplying force or power: "The current merger mania is apparently driven by an urge . . . to reduce risk or to exploit opportunities in a very rapidly changing business environment"(Peter Passell).
Sports To throw, strike, or cast (a ball, for example) hard or rapidly.
Basketball To move with the ball directly through: drove the lane and scored.
Baseball To cause (a run or runner) to be scored by batting. Often used with in.
To chase (game) into the open or into traps or nets.
To search (an area) for game in such a manner.
To supply the motive force or power to and cause to function: Steam drives the engine.
To cause or sustain, as if by supplying force or power: "The current merger mania is apparently driven by an urge . . . to reduce risk or to exploit opportunities in a very rapidly changing business environment"(Peter Passell).
Sports To throw, strike, or cast (a ball, for example) hard or rapidly.
Basketball To move with the ball directly through: drove the lane and scored.
Baseball To cause (a run or runner) to be scored by batting. Often used with in.
To chase (game) into the open or into traps or nets.
To search (an area) for game in such a manner.
To compel or force to work, often excessively: "Every serious dancer is driven by notions of perfection—perfect expressiveness, perfect technique"(Susan Sontag).
To force into or from a particular act or state: Indecision drives me crazy.
To force to go through or penetrate: drove the stake into the ground.
To create or produce by penetrating forcibly: The nail drove a hole in the tire.
To carry through vigorously to a conclusion: drove home his point; drive a hard bargain.
Sports To throw, strike, or cast (a ball, for example) hard or rapidly.
Basketball To move with the ball directly through: drove the lane and scored.
Baseball To cause (a run or runner) to be scored by batting. Often used with in.
To chase (game) into the open or into traps or nets.
To search (an area) for game in such a manner.
To chase (game) into the open or into traps or nets.
To search (an area) for game in such a manner.
v.
intr.
To move along or advance quickly as if pushed by an impelling force.
To rush, dash, or advance violently against an obstruction: The wind drove into my face.
To operate a vehicle, such as a car.
To go or be transported in a vehicle: drove to the supermarket.
Sports To hit, throw, or impel a ball or other missile forcibly.
Basketball To move directly to the basket with the ball.
To make an effort to reach or achieve an objective; aim.
n.
The act of driving.
A trip or journey in a vehicle.
Abbr. Dr. A road for automobiles and other vehicles.
The means or apparatus for transmitting motion or power to a machine or from one machine part to another.
The position or operating condition of such a mechanism: "He put his car into drive and started home"(Charles Baxter).
The means by which automotive power is applied to a roadway: four-wheel drive.
The means or apparatus for controlling and directing an automobile: right-hand drive.
Sports The act of hitting, knocking, or thrusting a ball very swiftly.
Sports The stroke or thrust by which a ball is driven.
Basketball The act of moving with the ball directly to the basket.
A rounding up and driving of cattle to new pastures or to market.
A gathering and driving of logs down a river.
The cattle or logs thus driven.
Computer Science A device that reads data from and often writes data onto a storage medium, such as a floppy disk.
A strong organized effort to accomplish a purpose. See Synonyms at campaign.
Energy, push, or aggressiveness.
Psychology A strong motivating tendency or instinct related to self-preservation, reproduction, or aggression that prompts activity toward a particular end.
A massive, sustained military offensive.
Sports The act of hitting, knocking, or thrusting a ball very swiftly.
Sports The stroke or thrust by which a ball is driven.
Basketball The act of moving with the ball directly to the basket.
A rounding up and driving of cattle to new pastures or to market.
A gathering and driving of logs down a river.
The cattle or logs thus driven.
A rounding up and driving of cattle to new pastures or to market.
A gathering and driving of logs down a river.
The cattle or logs thus driven.
Phrasal Verb(s): drive at
To mean to do or say: I don't understand what you're driving at.
[Middle English driven, from Old English drīfan; see dhreibh- in Indo-European roots.]
O.E. drifan (class I strong verb; past tense draf, pp. drifen), from P.Gmc. *dribanan (cf. O.N. drifa, Goth. dreiban), not found outside Gmc. Original sense of "pushing from behind," altered in Mod.Eng. by application to automobiles. Golfing sense of "forcible blow" is from 1836. Meaning "organized effort to raise money" is 1889, Amer.Eng. The noun, in the computing sense, first attested 1963. Drive-in (adj.) first recorded 1930, of restaurants, banks, movies, etc. Drive-through first attested 1949, in an advertisement for the Beer Vault Drive-Thru in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Driveway is from 1875.
"The more you drive, the less intelligent you are." ["Repo Man"]
the act of applying force to propel something; "after reaching the desired velocity the drive is cut off"
2.
a mechanism by which force or power is transmitted in a machine; "a variable speed drive permitted operation through a range of speeds"
3.
a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end; "he supported populist campaigns"; "they worked in the cause of world peace"; "the team was ready for a drive toward the pennant"; "the movement to end slavery"; "contributed to the war effort" [syn: campaign]
4.
a road leading up to a private house; "they parked in the driveway" [syn: driveway]
5.
the trait of being highly motivated; "his drive and energy exhausted his co-workers"
6.
hitting a golf ball off of a tee with a driver; "he sliced his drive out of bounds"
7.
the act of driving a herd of animals overland
8.
a journey in a vehicle (usually an automobile); "he took the family for a drive in his new car"
9.
a physiological state corresponding to a strong need or desire
10.
(computer science) a device that writes data onto or reads data from a storage medium
11.
a wide scenic road planted with trees; "the riverside drive offers many exciting scenic views"
12.
(sports) a hard straight return (as in tennis or squash)
verb
1.
operate or control a vehicle; "drive a car or bus"; "Can you drive this four-wheel truck?"
2.
travel or be transported in a vehicle; "We drove to the university every morning"; "They motored to London for the theater"
3.
cause someone or something to move by driving; "She drove me to school every day"; "We drove the car to the garage"
4.
force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically; "She rammed her mind into focus"; "He drives me mad" [syn: force]
5.
to compel or force or urge relentlessly or exert coercive pressure on, or motivate strongly; "She is driven by her passion"
6.
cause to move back by force or influence; "repel the enemy"; "push back the urge to smoke"; "beat back the invaders" [syn: repel] [ant: attract]
7.
compel somebody to do something, often against his own will or judgment; "She finally drove him to change jobs"
8.
push, propel, or press with force; "Drive a nail into the wall"
9.
cause to move rapidly by striking or throwing with force; "drive the ball far out into the field"
10.
strive and make an effort to reach a goal; "She tugged for years to make a decent living"; "We have to push a little to make the deadline!"; "She is driving away at her doctoral thesis" [syn: tug]
11.
move into a desired direction of discourse; "What are you driving at?"
12.
have certain properties when driven; "This car rides smoothly"; "My new truck drives well"
13.
work as a driver; "He drives a bread truck"; "She drives for the taxi company in Newark"
14.
move by being propelled by a force; "The car drove around the corner"
15.
urge forward; "drive the cows into the barn"
16.
proceed along in a vehicle; "We drive the turnpike to work"
17.
strike with a driver, as in teeing off; "drive a golf ball"
18.
hit very hard, as by swinging a bat horizontally; "drive a ball"
19.
excavate horizontally; "drive a tunnel"
20.
cause to function by supplying the force or power for or by controlling; "The amplifier drives the tube"; "steam drives the engines"; "this device drives the disks for the computer"
21.
hunting: search for game; "drive the forest"
22.
hunting: chase from cover into more open ground; "drive the game"
Airport Drive, MO (village, FIPS 424) Location: 37.13898 N, 94.51577 W Population (1990): 818 (328 housing units) Area: 5.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Shoal Creek Drive, MO (village, FIPS 67628) Location: 37.03751 N, 94.52324 W Population (1990): 296 (118 housing units) Area: 1.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Drift\, n. [From drive; akin to LG. & D. drift a driving, Icel. drift snowdrift, Dan. drift, impulse, drove, herd, pasture, common, G. trift pasturage, drove. See Drive.]1. A driving; a violent movement. The dragon drew him [self] away with drift of his wings. --King Alisaunder (1332). 2. The act or motion of drifting; the force which impels or drives; an overpowering influence or impulse. A bad man, being under the drift of any passion, will follow the impulse of it till something interpose. --South. 3. Course or direction along which anything is driven; setting. "Our drift was south." --Hakluyt. 4. The tendency of an act, argument, course of conduct, or the like; object aimed at or intended; intention; hence, also, import or meaning of a sentence or discourse; aim. He has made the drift of the whole poem a compliment on his country in general. -- Addison. Now thou knowest my drift. --Sir W. Scott. 5. That which is driven, forced, or urged along; as: (a) Anything driven at random. "Some log . . . a useless drift." --Dryden. (b) A mass of matter which has been driven or forced onward together in a body, or thrown together in a heap, etc., esp. by wind or water; as, a drift of snow, of ice, of sand, and the like. Drifts of rising dust involve the sky. -- Pope. We got the brig a good bed in the rushing drift [of ice]. --Kane. (c) A drove or flock, as of cattle, sheep, birds. [Obs.] Cattle coming over the bridge (with their great drift doing much damage to the high ways). -- Fuller. 6. (Arch.) The horizontal thrust or pressure of an arch or vault upon the abutments. [R.] --Knight. 7. (Geol.) A collection of loose earth and rocks, or boulders, which have been distributed over large portions of the earth's surface, especially in latitudes north of forty degrees, by the agency of ice. 8. In South Africa, a ford in a river. 9. (Mech.) A slightly tapered tool of steel for enlarging or shaping a hole in metal, by being forced or driven into or through it; a broach. 10. (Mil.) (a) A tool used in driving down compactly the composition contained in a rocket, or like firework. (b) A deviation from the line of fire, peculiar to oblong projectiles. 11. (Mining) A passage driven or cut between shaft and shaft; a driftway; a small subterranean gallery; an adit or tunnel. 12. (Naut.) (a) The distance through which a current flows in a given time. (b) The angle which the line of a ship's motion makes with the meridian, in drifting. (c) The distance to which a vessel is carried off from her desired course by the wind, currents, or other causes. (d) The place in a deep-waisted vessel where the sheer is raised and the rail is cut off, and usually terminated with a scroll, or driftpiece. (e) The distance between the two blocks of a tackle. 13. The difference between the size of a bolt and the hole into which it is driven, or between the circumference of a hoop and that of the mast on which it is to be driven. Note: Drift is used also either adjectively or as the first part of a compound. See Drift, a. Drift of the forest (O. Eng. Law), an examination or view of the cattle in a forest, in order to see whose they are, whether they are commonable, and to determine whether or not the forest is surcharged. --Burrill.
Drift\, n. [From drive; akin to LG. & D. drift a driving, Icel. drift snowdrift, Dan. drift, impulse, drove, herd, pasture, common, G. trift pasturage, drove. See Drive.]1. A driving; a violent movement. The dragon drew him [self] away with drift of his wings. --King Alisaunder (1332). 2. The act or motion of drifting; the force which impels or drives; an overpowering influence or impulse. A bad man, being under the drift of any passion, will follow the impulse of it till something interpose. --South. 3. Course or direction along which anything is driven; setting. "Our drift was south." --Hakluyt. 4. The tendency of an act, argument, course of conduct, or the like; object aimed at or intended; intention; hence, also, import or meaning of a sentence or discourse; aim. He has made the drift of the whole poem a compliment on his country in general. -- Addison. Now thou knowest my drift. --Sir W. Scott. 5. That which is driven, forced, or urged along; as: (a) Anything driven at random. "Some log . . . a useless drift." --Dryden. (b) A mass of matter which has been driven or forced onward together in a body, or thrown together in a heap, etc., esp. by wind or water; as, a drift of snow, of ice, of sand, and the like. Drifts of rising dust involve the sky. -- Pope. We got the brig a good bed in the rushing drift [of ice]. --Kane. (c) A drove or flock, as of cattle, sheep, birds. [Obs.] Cattle coming over the bridge (with their great drift doing much damage to the high ways). -- Fuller. 6. (Arch.) The horizontal thrust or pressure of an arch or vault upon the abutments. [R.] --Knight. 7. (Geol.) A collection of loose earth and rocks, or boulders, which have been distributed over large portions of the earth's surface, especially in latitudes north of forty degrees, by the agency of ice. 8. In South Africa, a ford in a river. 9. (Mech.) A slightly tapered tool of steel for enlarging or shaping a hole in metal, by being forced or driven into or through it; a broach. 10. (Mil.) (a) A tool used in driving down compactly the composition contained in a rocket, or like firework. (b) A deviation from the line of fire, peculiar to oblong projectiles. 11. (Mining) A passage driven or cut between shaft and shaft; a driftway; a small subterranean gallery; an adit or tunnel. 12. (Naut.) (a) The distance through which a current flows in a given time. (b) The angle which the line of a ship's motion makes with the meridian, in drifting. (c) The distance to which a vessel is carried off from her desired course by the wind, currents, or other causes. (d) The place in a deep-waisted vessel where the sheer is raised and the rail is cut off, and usually terminated with a scroll, or driftpiece. (e) The distance between the two blocks of a tackle. 13. The difference between the size of a bolt and the hole into which it is driven, or between the circumference of a hoop and that of the mast on which it is to be driven. Note: Drift is used also either adjectively or as the first part of a compound. See Drift, a. Drift of the forest (O. Eng. Law), an examination or view of the cattle in a forest, in order to see whose they are, whether they are commonable, and to determine whether or not the forest is surcharged. --Burrill.
Drive\ (dr[imac]v), v. t. [imp. Drove (dr[=o]v), formerly Drave (dr[=a]v); p. p. Driven (dr[i^]v'n); p. pr. & vb. n. Driving.] [AS. dr[=i]fan; akin to OS. dr[=i]ban, D. drijven, OHG. tr[=i]ban, G. treiben, Icel. dr[=i]fa, Goth. dreiban. Cf. Drift, Drove.]1. To impel or urge onward by force in a direction away from one, or along before one; to push forward; to compel to move on; to communicate motion to; as, to drive cattle; to drive a nail; smoke drives persons from a room. A storm came on and drove them into Pylos. --Jowett (Thucyd. ). Shield pressed on shield, and man drove man along. --Pope. Go drive the deer and drag the finny prey. --Pope. 2. To urge on and direct the motions of, as the beasts which draw a vehicle, or the vehicle borne by them; hence, also, to take in a carriage; to convey in a vehicle drawn by beasts; as, to drive a pair of horses or a stage; to drive a person to his own door. How . . . proud he was to drive such a brother! --Thackeray. 3. To urge, impel, or hurry forward; to force; to constrain; to urge, press, or bring to a point or state; as, to drive a person by necessity, by persuasion, by force of circumstances, by argument, and the like. " Enough to drive one mad." --Tennyson. He, driven to dismount, threatened, if I did not do the like, to do as much for my horse as fortune had done for his. --Sir P. Sidney. 4. To carry or; to keep in motion; to conduct; to prosecute. [Now used only colloquially.] --Bacon. The trade of life can not be driven without partners. --Collier. 5. To clear, by forcing away what is contained. To drive the country, force the swains away. --Dryden. 6. (Mining) To dig Horizontally; to cut a horizontal gallery or tunnel. --Tomlinson. 7. To pass away; -- said of time. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Note: Drive, in all its senses, implies forcible or violent action. It is the reverse of to lead. To drive a body is to move it by applying a force behind; to lead is to cause to move by applying the force before, or in front. It takes a variety of meanings, according to the objects by which it is followed; as, to drive an engine, to direct and regulate its motions; to drive logs, to keep them in the current of a river and direct them in their course; to drive feathers or down, to place them in a machine, which, by a current of air, drives off the lightest to one end, and collects them by themselves. "My thrice-driven bed of down." --Shak.
Drive\, v. i. 1. To rush and press with violence; to move furiously. Fierce Boreas drove against his flying sails. --Dryden. Under cover of the night and a driving tempest. --Prescott. Time driveth onward fast, And in a little while our lips are dumb. --Tennyson. 2. To be forced along; to be impelled; to be moved by any physical force or agent; to be driven. The hull drives on, though mast and sail be torn. --Byron. The chaise drives to Mr. Draper's chambers. --Thackeray. 3. To go by carriage; to pass in a carriage; to proceed by directing or urging on a vehicle or the animals that draw it; as, the coachman drove to my door. 4. To press forward; to aim, or tend, to a point; to make an effort; to strive; -- usually with at. Let them therefore declare what carnal or secular interest he drove at. --South. 5. To distrain for rent. [Obs.] To let drive, to aim a blow; to strike with force; to attack. "Four rogues in buckram let drive at me." --Shak.
Drive\ (dr[imac]v), n. 1. The act of driving; a trip or an excursion in a carriage, as for exercise or pleasure; -- distinguished from a ride taken on horseback. 2. A place suitable or agreeable for driving; a road prepared for driving. 3. Violent or rapid motion; a rushing onward or away; esp., a forced or hurried dispatch of business. The Murdstonian drive in business. --M. Arnold. 4. In type founding and forging, an impression or matrix, formed by a punch drift. 5. A collection of objects that are driven; a mass of logs to be floated down a river. [Colloq.] Syn: See Ride.
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Audio Help [drahyv] Pronunciation Key verb, drove or (Archaic
