Definition of 'drive'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense drives
, present participle driving
, past tense drove
, past participle driven
1. verb
When you drive somewhere, you operate a car or other vehicle and control its movement and direction.
[Also VERB noun preposition/adverb] 2. verb
4. countable noun
A drive is a wide piece of hard ground, or sometimes a private road, that leads from the
road to a person's house.
5. verb
If something drives a machine, it supplies the power that makes it work.
6. uncountable noun [usually noun NOUN]
7. countable noun
You use drive to refer to the mechanical part of a computer which reads the data on disks and tapes, or writes data onto them.
8. See also disk drive
9. verb
10. verb
In games such as cricket, golf, or football, if a player drives a ball somewhere, they kick or hit it there with a lot of force.
[Also VERB noun]11. countable noun
12. verb
If the wind, rain, or snow drives in a particular direction, it moves with great force in that direction.
13. verb
If you drive people or animals somewhere, you make them go to or from that place.
14. verb
To drive someone into a particular state or situation means to force them into that state or situation.
15. verb
The desire or feeling that drives a person to do something, especially something extreme, is the desire or feeling that causes them to do it.
[Also VERB noun] 16. uncountable noun
17. countable noun
A drive is a very strong need or desire in human beings that makes them act in particular
ways.
18. singular noun
19. countable noun
20. See also driving
21.
Phrasal verbs:
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
drive in British English
verbWord forms: drives, driving, drove (drəʊv
), driven (ˈdrɪvən
)
1.
to push, propel, or be pushed or propelled
5. (transitive)
to cause (an object) to make or form (a hole, crack, etc)
his blow drove a hole in the wall
6.
to move or cause to move rapidly by striking or throwing with force
7. sport
10.
to transport or be transported in a driven vehicle
11. (intransitive)
the waves drove against the rock
13. (transitive)
to force (a component) into or out of its location by means of blows or a press
16. See drive home
noun
17.
the act of driving
18.
a trip or journey in a driven vehicle
19.
a.
a road for vehicles, esp a private road leading to a house
b.
(capital when part of a street name)
Woodland Drive
21.
a united effort, esp directed towards a common goal
a charity drive
23.
energy, ambition, or initiative
24. psychology
26.
b.
(as modifier)
a drive shaft
27. sport
a hard straight shot or stroke
28.
a search for and chasing of game towards waiting guns
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
drivable (ˈdrivable) or driveable (ˈdriveable) adjective
drivability (ˌdrivaˈbility) or driveability (ˌdriveaˈbility)
noun
Word origin
Old English drīfan; related to Old Frisian drīva, Old Norse drīfa, Gothic dreiban, Old High German trībanWord Frequency
drive in American English
verb transitiveWord forms: drove, ˈdriven, ˈdriving
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
4.
a.
to force by or as by a blow, thrust, or stroke
b.
to throw, hit, or cast hard and swiftly
c. Golf
to hit from the tee, usually with a driver
5.
to cause to go through; make penetrate
6.
to make or produce by penetrating
to drive a hole through metal
7.
8.
to transport in an automobile or other vehicle
9.
a.
to impel or propel as motive power; set or keep going; cause to function
a gasoline engine drives the motorboat
10.
to carry on with vigor; push (a bargain, etc.) through
verb intransitive
12.
to advance violently; dash
13.
to work or try hard, as to reach a goal
14.
to drive a blow, ball, missile, etc.
15.
to be driven; operate
said of a motor vehicle16.
to go or be conveyed in a vehicle
17.
to operate a motor vehicle
noun
18.
the act of driving
19.
a trip in a vehicle
21. US
a.
a rounding up or moving of animals on foot for branding, slaughter, etc.
b.
the animals rounded up or moved
22.
a.
a hard, swift blow, thrust, etc., as of a ball in a game
b. Golf
a shot from the tee, usually with a driver
23. US
a.
an organized movement to achieve some purpose; campaign
b.
a large-scale military offensive to gain an objective
25.
that which is urgent or pressing; pressure
27.
a.
any apparatus that transmits power in a motor vehicle
a gear drive
b.
that arrangement in an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle which allows movement forward at varying speeds
28.
a device that communicates motion to a machine or machine part
29. Computing
a unit that reads and writes data on magnetic tape, a disk, etc.
30. Psychology
any of the basic biological impulses or urges, such as self-preservation, hunger, sex, etc.
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
drivable (ˈdrivable)
adjective or ˈdriveable
drivability (ˌdrivaˈbility)
noun or ˌdriveaˈbility
Word origin
ME driven < OE drifan, akin to Goth dreiban, Ger treiben, ON drīfa < IE base *dhreibh-, to push
Word Frequency
drive in American English
(draiv) (verb drove or archaic drave, driven, driving)
transitive verb
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.
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. Sport
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
intransitive verb
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
20. See drive at
21. See let drive
noun
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. 30. push; ambition, motivation.22.
the act of driving
23.
a trip in a vehicle, esp. a short pleasure trip
a Sunday drive in the country
24.
an impelling along, as of game, cattle, or floating logs, in a particular direction
25.
the animals, logs, etc., thus driven
26. Psychology
an inner urge that stimulates activity or inhibition; a basic or instinctive need
the hunger drive
sex drive
28.
a strong military offensive
29.
a united effort to accomplish some specific purpose, esp. to raise money, as for a charity
30.
energy and initiative
a person with great drive
31.
vigorous pressure or effort, as in business
32.
a road for vehicles, esp. a scenic one, as in or along a park, or a short one, as an approach to a house
33. Machinery
a driving mechanism, as of an automobile
gear drive
chain drive
34. Automobiles
the point or points of power application to the roadway
front-wheel drive
four-wheel drive
35. Sport
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
36. Golf
a shot, esp. with a driver or driving iron from the tee, that is intended to carry
a great distance
37.
a hunt in which game is driven toward stationary hunters
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
drivable or driveable adjective
Word origin
[bef. 900; ME drīven, OE drīfan; c. D drijven, ON drīfa, Goth dreiban, G treiben]Examples of 'drive' in a sentence
drive
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In other languages
drive
British English: drive
/draɪv/ NOUN
A drive is a journey in a vehicle such as a car.
It was a long drive home.
- American English: drive /ˈdraɪv/
- Arabic: نُزْهَةٌ في سَيَارَة
- Brazilian Portuguese: passeio de carro
- Chinese: 驾驶
- Croatian: vožnja
- Czech: jízda autem
- Danish: kørsel
- Dutch: rit
- European Spanish: viaje en coche
- Finnish: ajomatka
- French: promenade en voiture
- German: Fahrt
- Greek: διαδρομή με όχημα
- Italian: viaggio in auto il guidare
- Japanese: ドライブ
- Korean: 드라이브
- Norwegian: kjøretur
- Polish: przejażdżka
- European Portuguese: passeio de carro
- Romanian: călătorie
- Russian: езда
- Latin American Spanish: viaje en carro
- Swedish: uppfartsväg
- Thai: การเดินทางโดยยานพาหนะ
- Turkish: yolculuk otomobil
- Ukrainian: їзда
- Vietnamese: chuyến đi chơi bằng xe
British English: drive
/draɪv/ VERB
When someone drives a vehicle, they make it go where they want.
He knows how to drive a car.
- American English: drive /ˈdraɪv/
- Arabic: يَقُودُ
- Brazilian Portuguese: dirigir
- Chinese: 驾驶
- Croatian: voziti
- Czech: řídit auto
- Danish: køre
- Dutch: rijden auto
- European Spanish: conducir
- Finnish: ajaa
- French: conduire
- German: fahren
- Greek: οδηγώ
- Italian: guidare
- Japanese: 運転する
- Korean: 운전하다
- Norwegian: kjøre
- Polish: kierować
- European Portuguese: conduzir
- Romanian: a conduce
- Russian: водить
- Latin American Spanish: conducir
- Swedish: köra
- Thai: ขับ
- Turkish: sürmek otomobil
- Ukrainian: водити
- Vietnamese: lái xe
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drive
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Definition of drive from the Collins English Dictionary
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