Drive

/dɹaɪv/ noun, verb, slang

noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Planned, usually long-lasting, effort to achieve something; ability coupled with ambition, determination, and motivation.
  • Grammar: drive is listed as noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: ride, academic importance, accelerate, accelerate industrial growth.
  • Useful contrasts: footed, idle, italian apatia.
  • Usage evidence: Jimmy tried to cajole his parents into letting him drive across the country with his friends.

How to use "drive"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "drive" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "drive" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "drive" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "drive" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "drive" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "ride" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "drive", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Planned, usually long-lasting, effort to achieve something; ability coupled with ambition, determination, and motivation. countable, uncountable

    "Crassus had wealth and wit, but Pompey had drive and Caesar as much again."

  2. 2
    the act of applying force to propel something wordnet
  3. 3
    Violent or rapid motion; a rushing onward or away; (especially) a forced or hurried dispatch of business. countable, uncountable

    "The Murdstonian drive in business."

  4. 4
    a journey in a vehicle (usually an automobile) wordnet
  5. 5
    An act of driving (prompting) animals forward.; An act of driving game animals forward, to be captured or hunted. countable, uncountable

    "Are you all ready?’ he cried, and set off towards the dead ash where the drive would begin."

Show 31 more definitions
  1. 6
    the act of driving a herd of animals overland wordnet
  2. 7
    An act of driving (prompting) animals forward.; An act of driving livestock animals forward, to transport a herd. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    (sports) a hard straight return (as in tennis or squash) wordnet
  4. 9
    A sustained advance in the face of the enemy to take an objective. countable, uncountable

    "Napoleon's drive on Moscow was as determined as it was disastrous."

  5. 10
    hitting a golf ball off of a tee with a driver wordnet
  6. 11
    A mechanism used to power or give motion to a vehicle or other machine or machine part. countable, uncountable

    "a typical steam drive"

  7. 12
    a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end wordnet
  8. 13
    A trip made in a vehicle (now generally in a motor vehicle). countable, uncountable

    "It was a long drive."

  9. 14
    a wide scenic road planted with trees wordnet
  10. 15
    A driveway. countable, uncountable

    "The mansion had a long, tree-lined drive."

  11. 16
    a mechanism by which force or power is transmitted in a machine wordnet
  12. 17
    A type of public roadway. countable, uncountable

    "Beverly Hills’ most famous street is Rodeo Drive."

  13. 18
    (computer science) a device that writes data onto or reads data from a storage medium wordnet
  14. 19
    The gear into which one usually shifts an automatic transmission when one is driving a car or truck. (Denoted with symbol D on a shifter's labeling.) countable, uncountable

    "Normally you should be in drive, although you can select a lower gear such as 2 or 1 for certain conditions, such as prolonged downhill stretches."

  15. 20
    a road leading up to a private house wordnet
  16. 21
    A place suitable or agreeable for driving; a road prepared for driving. countable, dated, uncountable
  17. 22
    the trait of being highly motivated wordnet
  18. 23
    Desire or interest. countable, uncountable

    "1995 March 2, John Carman, "Believe It, You Saw It in Sweeps", SFGate http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Believe-It-You-Saw-It-In-Sweeps-3043091.php On the latter show, former Playboy Playmate Carrie Westcott said she'd never met a man who could match her sexual drive."

  19. 24
    a physiological state corresponding to a strong need or desire wordnet
  20. 25
    An apparatus for reading and writing data to or from a mass storage device such as a disk. countable, uncountable
  21. 26
    A mass storage device in which the mechanism for reading and writing data is integrated with the mechanism for storing data. countable, uncountable
  22. 27
    A stroke made with a driver. countable, uncountable
  23. 28
    A ball struck in a flat trajectory. countable, uncountable
  24. 29
    A type of shot played by swinging the bat in a vertical arc, through the line of the ball, and hitting it along the ground, normally between cover and midwicket. countable, uncountable
  25. 30
    A straight level shot or pass. countable, uncountable

    "And after Rodallega missed two early opportunities, the first a header, the second a low drive easily held by Lukasz Fabianski, it was N'Zogbia who created the opening goal."

  26. 31
    An offensive possession, generally one consisting of several plays and/ or first downs, often leading to a scoring opportunity. countable, uncountable
  27. 32
    A charity event such as a fundraiser, bake sale, or toy drive. countable, uncountable

    "a whist drive"

  28. 33
    A campaign aimed at selling more of a certain product or promoting a public service. countable, uncountable

    "vaccination drive"

  29. 34
    An impression or matrix formed by a punch drift. countable, uncountable
  30. 35
    A collection of objects that are driven; a mass of logs to be floated down a river. countable, uncountable
  31. 36
    Friendly term of address for a bus driver. UK, countable, slang, uncountable

    "Yeah, thanks, drive! You boyz all goin' shoppin'? We are, drive, says Chip."

Verb
  1. 1
    To operate a vehicle:; To operate (a wheeled motorized vehicle). ergative, transitive

    "The bridges weren't strong enough to drive (campers) over."

  2. 2
    move into a desired direction of discourse wordnet
  3. 3
    To operate a vehicle:; To travel by operating a wheeled motorized vehicle. intransitive

    "I drive to work every day."

  4. 4
    (hunting) chase from cover into more open ground wordnet
  5. 5
    To operate a vehicle:; To convey (a person, etc.) in a wheeled motorized vehicle. transitive

    "My cousin drove me to the airport."

Show 43 more definitions
  1. 6
    (hunting) search for game wordnet
  2. 7
    To operate a vehicle:; To operate (an aircraft); to pilot. slang, transitive

    "drive a 737"

  3. 8
    cause to function by supplying the force or power for or by controlling wordnet
  4. 9
    To operate a vehicle:; To direct a vehicle powered by a horse, ox or similar animal. intransitive, transitive

    "There is a litter ready; lay him in’t And drive towards Dover, friend, where thou shalt meet Both welcome and protection."

  5. 10
    excavate horizontally wordnet
  6. 11
    To compel to move:; (especially of animals) To impel or urge onward by force; to push forward; to compel to move on. transitive

    "to drive twenty thousand head of cattle from Texas to the Kansas railheads; to drive sheep out of a field"

  7. 12
    hit very hard, as by swinging a bat horizontally wordnet
  8. 13
    To compel to move:; (especially animals) To cause to flee out of. transitive

    "The hunting dog drove the birds out of the tall grass."

  9. 14
    strike with a driver, as in teeing off wordnet
  10. 15
    To cause to move by the application of physical force:; To provide an impetus for motion or other physical change, to move an object by means of the provision of force thereto. transitive

    "You drive nails into wood with any hammer; it's not as strenuous as driving a tunnel through the rock."

  11. 16
    cause to move back by force or influence wordnet
  12. 17
    To cause to move by the application of physical force:; To cause (a mechanism) to operate. transitive

    "The pistons drive the crankshaft."

  13. 18
    cause to move rapidly by striking or throwing with force wordnet
  14. 19
    To cause to move by the application of physical force:; To hit the ball with a drive. intransitive
  15. 20
    push, propel, or press with force wordnet
  16. 21
    To cause to move by the application of physical force:; To separate the lighter (feathers or down) from the heavier, by exposing them to a current of air. transitive
  17. 22
    force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically wordnet
  18. 23
    To displace either physically or non-physically, through the application of force. transitive

    "One fire drives out one fire; one nail, one nail; Rights by rights falter, strengths by strengths do fail."

  19. 24
    compel somebody to do something, often against their own will or judgment wordnet
  20. 25
    To compel to undergo a non-physical change:; To provide an impetus for a change in one's situation or state of mind. transitive

    "My husband's constant harping about the condition of the house threatens to drive me to distraction."

  21. 26
    travel or be transported in a vehicle wordnet
  22. 27
    To compel to undergo a non-physical change:; To motivate; to provide an incentive for. transitive

    "What drives a person to run a marathon?"

  23. 28
    proceed along in a vehicle wordnet
  24. 29
    To compel to undergo a non-physical change:; To compel, exert pressure, coerce (to do something). transitive

    "Their debts finally drove them to sell the business."

  25. 30
    operate or control a vehicle wordnet
  26. 31
    To compel to undergo a non-physical change:; To cause to become. transitive

    "This constant complaining is going to drive me insane."

  27. 32
    urge forward wordnet
  28. 33
    To compel to undergo a non-physical change:; To motivate through the application or demonstration of force; to impel or urge onward in such a way. transitive

    "Frothing at the mouth and threatening expulsion, Coach relentlessly drove the team to more laps of the pitch."

  29. 34
    cause someone or something to move by driving wordnet
  30. 35
    To compel to undergo a non-physical change:; To urge, press, or bring to a point or state. transitive

    "The negotiations were driven to completion minutes before the final deadline."

  31. 36
    move by being propelled by a force wordnet
  32. 37
    To move forcefully. intransitive

    "[…] Unequal match’d, Pyrrhus at Priam drives, in rage strikes wide;"

  33. 38
    strive and make an effort to reach a goal wordnet
  34. 39
    To be moved or propelled forcefully (especially of a ship). intransitive

    "[…] as a duck for life that dives, So up and down the poor ship drives:"

  35. 40
    work as a driver wordnet
  36. 41
    To carry or to keep in motion; to conduct; to prosecute. transitive

    "You know the Trade of Life can’t be driven without Partners; there is a reciprocal Dependance between the Greatest and the Least."

  37. 42
    to compel or force or urge relentlessly or exert coercive pressure on, or motivate strongly wordnet
  38. 43
    To clear, by forcing away what is contained. transitive

    "We come not with design of wastful Prey, To drive the Country, force the Swains away:"

  39. 44
    have certain properties when driven wordnet
  40. 45
    To dig horizontally; to cut a horizontal gallery or tunnel.

    "1852-1866, Charles Tomlinson, Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts and Manufactures If the miners find no ore, they drive or cut a gallery from the pit a short distance at right angles to the direction of the lodes found"

  41. 46
    To put together a drive (n.): to string together offensive plays and advance the ball down the field.
  42. 47
    To distrain for rent. obsolete
  43. 48
    To be the dominant party in a sex act.

Synonyms

All synonyms
rideacademic importanceaccelerateaccelerate industrial growthacceleratesacceleration

Antonyms

footedidleitalian apatialobed

Example

"Jimmy tried to cajole his parents into letting him drive across the country with his friends."

Common questions

What does "drive" mean?

Planned, usually long-lasting, effort to achieve something; ability coupled with ambition, determination, and motivation.

What is a synonym for "drive"?

Common synonyms include: ride, academic importance, accelerate, accelerate industrial growth, accelerates, acceleration.

How do you use "drive" in a sentence?

Jimmy tried to cajole his parents into letting him drive across the country with his friends.

How do you pronounce "drive"?

Pronounced /dɹaɪv/.

Etymology

From Middle English driven, from Old English drīfan (“to drive, force, move”), from Proto-West Germanic *drīban, from Proto-Germanic *drībaną (“to drive”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- (“to drive, push”). Cognates Cognate with Scots drive (“to drive”), Yola dhreeve, dhrive, dreeve, drieve, drive (“to drive”), North Frisian driiv, driiw, driwe (“to drive”), West Frisian driuwe (“to drive; to float”), Alemannic German triibe (“to drive”), Dutch drijven (“to drive, push”), German treiben (“to drive, push, propel”), Low German drieven (“to drive, drift, push”), Luxembourgish dreiwen (“to drive, propel”), Yiddish טרײַבן (traybn, “to drive”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål drive (“to drive, propel”), Icelandic drífa (“to drive”), Norwegian Nynorsk driva, drive (“to drive, move; to propel; to run”), Swedish driva (“to drive, compel; to drift; to run”), Gothic 𐌳𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (dreiban, “to drive”).

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Synonyms

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