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driver

 - 9 dictionary results

driv⋅er

[drahy-ver]
–noun
1. a person or thing that drives.
2. a person who drives a vehicle; coachman, chauffeur, etc.
3. a person who drives an animal or animals, as a drover or cowboy.
4. Also called number one wood. Golf. a club with a wooden head whose face has almost no slope, for hitting long, low drives from the tee.
5. Machinery.
a. a part that transmits force or motion.
b. the member of a pair of connected pulleys, gears, etc., that is nearer to the power source.
6. Computers. software or hardware that controls the interface between a computer and a peripheral device.
7. Railroads. driving wheel (def. 2).
8. British. a locomotive engineer.
9. Audio.
a. the part of a loudspeaker that transforms the electrical signal into sound.
b. the entire loudspeaker.
10. Nautical.
a. a jib-headed spanker sail.
b. a designation given to one of the masts abaft the mizzen on a sailing vessel having more than three masts, either the fifth or sixth from forward. Compare pusher (def. 4), spanker (def. 1b).

Origin:
1350–1400; ME drivere. See drive, -er 1


driv⋅er⋅less, adjective

drive

[drahyv] verb, drove or (Archaic) drave, driv⋅en, driv⋅ing, noun, adjective
–verb (used with object)
1. 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.
36. Electronics. excitation (def. 5).
–adjective
37. noting or pertaining to a part of a machine or vehicle used for its propulsion.
38. drive at, to attempt or intend to convey; allude to; suggest: What are you driving at?
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


driv⋅a⋅ble, drive⋅a⋅ble, adjective


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.

driving wheel

–noun
1. Machinery. a main wheel that communicates motion to others.
2. Also called driver. Railroads. one of the wheels of a locomotive that transmits the power of an engine or motor into tractive effort.

Origin:
1830–40
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To driver
driv·er   (drī'vər)   
n.  
  1. One that drives, as the operator of a motor vehicle.

  2. A tool, such as a screwdriver or hammer, that is used for imparting forceful pressure on another object.

  3. A machine part that transmits motion or power to another part.

  4. Computer Science A piece of software that enables a computer to communicate with a peripheral device.

  5. Sports A golf club with a wide head and a long shaft, used for making long shots from the tee.

  6. Nautical A jib-headed spanker.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

drive  (v.)
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"]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: drive
Pronunciation: 'drIv
Function: noun
1 : an urgent, basic, or instinctual need : a motivating physiological condition ofthe organism drive>
2 : an impelling culturally acquired concern, interest, or longing
drive for perfection>
Medical Dictionary

drive (drīv)
n.
A strong motivating tendency or instinct, especially of sexual or aggressive origin, that prompts activity toward a particular end.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Computing Dictionary

driver
1. device driver.
2. The main loop of an event-processing program; the code that gets commands and dispatches them for execution.
3. In the TeX world and the computerised typesetting world in general, a program that translates some device-independent or other common format to something a real device can actually understand.
[The Jargon File]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Idioms & Phrases

driver

see backseat driver; in the driver's seat.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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