drive Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the act of applying force to propel something
    thrust; driving force.
    • after reaching the desired velocity the drive is cut off
  2. noun a mechanism by which force or power is transmitted in a machine
    • a variable speed drive permitted operation through a range of speeds
  3. noun a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end
    campaign; cause; crusade; effort; movement.
    • 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
  4. noun a road leading up to a private house
    private road; driveway.
    • they parked in the driveway
  5. noun the trait of being highly motivated
    • his drive and energy exhausted his co-workers
  6. noun hitting a golf ball off of a tee with a driver
    driving.
    • he sliced his drive out of bounds
  7. noun the act of driving a herd of animals overland
  8. noun a journey in a vehicle (usually an automobile)
    ride.
    • he took the family for a drive in his new car
  9. noun a physiological state corresponding to a strong need or desire
  10. noun (computer science) a device that writes data onto or reads data from a storage medium
  11. noun a wide scenic road planted with trees
    parkway.
    • the riverside drive offers many exciting scenic views
  12. noun (sports) a hard straight return (as in tennis or squash)
  13. verb operate or control a vehicle
    • drive a car or bus
    • Can you drive this four-wheel truck?
  14. verb travel or be transported in a vehicle
    motor.
    • We drove to the university every morning
    • They motored to London for the theater
  15. verb cause someone or something to move by driving
    • She drove me to school every day
    • We drove the car to the garage
  16. verb force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically
    ram; force.
    • She rammed her mind into focus
    • He drives me mad
  17. verb to compel or force or urge relentlessly or exert coercive pressure on, or motivate strongly
    • She is driven by her passion
  18. verb cause to move back by force or influence
    repulse; beat back; repel; push back; force back.
    • repel the enemy
    • push back the urge to smoke
    • beat back the invaders
  19. verb compel somebody to do something, often against his own will or judgment
    • She finally drove him to change jobs
  20. verb push, propel, or press with force
    • Drive a nail into the wall
  21. verb cause to move rapidly by striking or throwing with force
    • drive the ball far out into the field
  22. verb strive and make an effort to reach a goal
    push; labor; labour; tug.
    • 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
  23. verb move into a desired direction of discourse
    aim; get.
    • What are you driving at?
  24. verb have certain properties when driven
    ride.
    • This car rides smoothly
    • My new truck drives well
  25. verb work as a driver
    • He drives a bread truck
    • She drives for the taxi company in Newark
  26. verb move by being propelled by a force
    • The car drove around the corner
  27. verb urge forward
    • drive the cows into the barn
  28. verb proceed along in a vehicle
    take.
    • We drive the turnpike to work
  29. verb strike with a driver, as in teeing off
    • drive a golf ball
  30. verb hit very hard, as by swinging a bat horizontally
    • drive a ball
  31. verb excavate horizontally
    • drive a tunnel
  32. verb 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
  33. verb hunting: search for game
    • drive the forest
  34. verb hunting: chase from cover into more open ground
    • drive the game

WordNet

Drive transitive verb
Etymology
AS. drifan; akin to OS. driban, D. drijven, OHG. triban, G. treiben, Icel. drifa, Goth. dreiban. Cf. Drift, Drove.
Wordforms
imperfect Drove formerly Drave (); past participle Driven ; present participle & verbal noun Driving
Definitions
  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 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. ✍ 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 intransitive verb
Definitions
  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. Shak.
Drive past participle
Definitions
  1. Driven. Obs. Chaucer.
Drive noun
Definitions
  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.

Webster 1913