drive

To drive is defined as to operate a vehicle, to be licensed to operate a vehicle or moving something using force.

(verb)

  1. An example of drive is when you get in your car and go to the store.
  2. An example of drive is when you have a license allowing you to operate a car.
  3. An example of drive is when you hit a golf ball in a certain direction.

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See drive in Webster's New World College Dictionary

transitive verb drove, driven, driving

  1. to force to go; urge onward; push forward
  2. to force into or from a state or act: driven mad
  3. to force to work, usually to excess
    1. to force by or as by a blow, thrust, or stroke
    2. to throw, hit, or cast hard and swiftly
    3. Golf to hit from the tee, usually with a driver
  4. to cause to go through; make penetrate
  5. to make or produce by penetrating: to drive a hole through metal
  6. to control the movement or direct the course of (an automobile, horse and wagon, locomotive, etc.)
  7. to transport in an automobile or other vehicle
    1. to impel or propel as motive power; set or keep going; cause to function: a gasoline engine drives the motorboat
    2. to compel, motivate, influence, direct, etc.: the investigation is driven by political rivalry
  8. to carry on with vigor; push (a bargain, etc.) through
  9. Hunting
    1. to chase (game) from thickets into the clear or into nets, traps, etc.
    2. to cover (an area) in this way

Origin: ME driven < OE drifan, akin to Goth dreiban, Ger treiben, ON drīfa < IE base *dhreibh-, to push

intransitive verb

  1. to advance violently; dash
  2. to work or try hard, as to reach a goal
  3. to drive a blow, ball, missile, etc.
  4. to be driven; operate: said of a motor vehicle
  5. to go or be conveyed in a vehicle
  6. to operate a motor vehicle

noun

  1. the act of driving
  2. a trip in a vehicle
    1. a road for automobiles, etc.
    2. a driveway
    1. a rounding up or moving of animals on foot for branding, slaughter, etc.
    2. the animals rounded up or moved
    1. a hard, swift blow, thrust, etc., as of a ball in a game
    2. Golf a shot from the tee, usually with a driver
    1. an organized movement to achieve some purpose; campaign
    2. a large-scale military offensive to gain an objective
    3. Football a series of plays that advances the ball toward the opponent's goal, usually resulting in a field goal or touchdown
  3. ☆ the power or energy to get things done; enthusiastic or aggressive vigor
  4. that which is urgent or pressing; pressure
  5. ☆ a collection of logs being floated down a river to a sawmill
    1. any apparatus that transmits power in a motor vehicle: a gear drive
    2. that arrangement in an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle which allows movement forward at varying speeds
  6. a device that communicates motion to a machine or machine part
  7. Comput. a unit that reads and writes data on magnetic tape, a disk, etc.
  8. Psychol. any of the basic biological impulses or urges, such as self-preservation, hunger, sex, etc.

Related Forms:

See drive in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb drove drove (drōv), driv·en (drĭvˈən), driv·ing, drives
verb, transitive
  1. To push, propel, or press onward forcibly; urge forward: drove the horses into the corral.
  2. To repulse or put to flight by force or influence: drove the attackers away; drove out any thought of failure.
  3. To guide, control, or direct (a vehicle).
  4. a. To convey or transport in a vehicle: drove the children to school.
    b. To traverse in a vehicle: drive the freeways to work.
  5. a. To supply the motive force or power to and cause to function: Steam drives the engine.
    b. 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).
  6. To compel or force to work, often excessively: “Every serious dancer is driven by notions of perfection—perfect expressiveness, perfect technique” (Susan Sontag).
  7. To force into or from a particular act or state: Indecision drives me crazy.
  8. To force to go through or penetrate: drove the stake into the ground.
  9. To create or produce by penetrating forcibly: The nail drove a hole in the tire.
  10. To carry through vigorously to a conclusion: drove home his point; drive a hard bargain.
  11. a. Sports To throw, strike, or cast (a ball, for example) hard or rapidly.
    b. Basketball To move with the ball directly through: drove the lane and scored.
    c. Baseball To cause (a run or runner) to be scored by batting. Often used with in.
  12. a. To chase (game) into the open or into traps or nets.
    b. To search (an area) for game in such a manner.
verb, intransitive
  1. To move along or advance quickly as if pushed by an impelling force.
  2. To rush, dash, or advance violently against an obstruction: The wind drove into my face.
  3. To operate a vehicle, such as a car.
  4. To go or be transported in a vehicle: drove to the supermarket.
  5. a. Sports To hit, throw, or impel a ball or other missile forcibly.
    b. Basketball To move directly to the basket with the ball.
  6. To make an effort to reach or achieve an objective; aim.
noun
  1. The act of driving.
  2. A trip or journey in a vehicle.
  3. Abbr. Dr. A road for automobiles and other vehicles.
  4. a. The means or apparatus for transmitting motion or power to a machine or from one machine part to another.
    b. The position or operating condition of such a mechanism: “He put his car into drive and started home” (Charles Baxter).
    c. The means by which automotive power is applied to a roadway: four-wheel drive.
    d. The means or apparatus for controlling and directing an automobile: right-hand drive.
  5. Computer Science A device that reads data from and often writes data onto a storage medium, such as a floppy disk.
  6. A strong organized effort to accomplish a purpose. See Synonyms at campaign.
  7. Energy, push, or aggressiveness.
  8. Psychology A strong motivating tendency or instinct related to self-preservation, reproduction, or aggression that prompts activity toward a particular end.
  9. A massive, sustained military offensive.
  10. a. Sports The act of hitting, knocking, or thrusting a ball very swiftly.
    b. Sports The stroke or thrust by which a ball is driven.
    c. Basketball The act of moving with the ball directly to the basket.
  11. a. A rounding up and driving of cattle to new pastures or to market.
    b. A gathering and driving of logs down a river.
    c. The cattle or logs thus driven.
Phrasal Verb: drive at To mean to do or say: I don't understand what you're driving at.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English driven

Origin: , from Old English drīfan; see dhreibh- in Indo-European roots

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Related Forms:

  • drivˌa·bilˈi·ty noun
  • drivˈa·ble adjective

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