| driving force | |
noun | |
| the act of applying force to propel something; "after reaching the desired velocity the drive is cut off" [syn: drive] |
driving force
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."