What does "driver" mean?
One who drives something.
Driver
/ˈdɹaɪ.və/ name, noun, slang
name, noun, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One who drives something.
- Grammar: driver is listed as name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: device driver, absolute monarch, absolute ruler, accelerating force.
- Useful contrasts: chippers, foot traveler, foot travelers.
- Usage evidence: The load was too heavy for a driver to carry alone.
How to use "driver"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "driver" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- 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 "driver" 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 "driver" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "driver" 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 "driver" is acting as name, noun, 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 "device driver" 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 "driver", 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 One who drives something.
"Luke North was working in the North East District when Harry Patterson the pony driver came by. It was 5.45 o'clock. Luke smelt danger in the air. He walked round the pony to speak with Harry […]"
- 2 a golf club (a wood) with a near vertical face that is used for hitting long shots from the tee wordnet
- 3 One who drives something.; A person who drives a motorized vehicle such as a car, truck, bus, train, forklift, etc.
"The driver will make an announcement when the trip is nearing its completion."
- 4 (computer science) a program that determines how a computer will communicate with a peripheral device wordnet
- 5 One who drives something.; A pilot (person who flies aircraft). slang
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 the operator of a motor vehicle wordnet
- 7 One who drives something.; A person who drives livestock: a drover.
"Up until 1872 there was not over 150 miles of railroad in the state [Texas], that was from Galveston to Houston, and a short line from Houston to Brazoria, twenty-five miles in length, and one road from Harrisburg to Alton, three miles east of Columbus. So the cattle driving to Kansas was the only hope at that time, and it proved to be a great help before the railroads got around. Trail driving to Kansas lasted from 1866 to 1886 and it was estimated that fully eight million head of cattle and horses were driven and sold during the twenty years above mentioned to Kansas, the drivers paying for the cattle on an average of $10.00 per head, although most of the horses came back to Texas and were used the next year. There were all sizes of herds from five hundred to twenty-five hundred cattle in a drove, usually seven or eight men to the small herds and twelve to fifteen men with the large herds."
- 8 a golfer who hits the golf ball with a driver wordnet
- 9 Something that drives something else.
"The character of work is a driver of social change, at the same time that any new forms of work are the result of broader social change."
- 10 someone who drives animals that pull a vehicle wordnet
- 11 Something that drives something else.; A device driver; a program that acts as an interface between an application and hardware, written specifically for the device it controls.
- 12 Something that drives something else.; A golf club used to drive the ball a great distance.
"The brassey much resembled the driver, but the iron opened out quite a new field of practice; […]"
- 13 Something that drives something else.; A kind of sail, smaller than a fore and aft spanker on a square-rigged ship, a driver is tied to the same spars.
- 14 Something that drives something else.; A factor contributing to something; a cause.
"Compared with June 2023, consumers’ perceptions of the main drivers of inflation shifted towards wages, although other input costs were still seen as the strongest driver overall."
- 15 Something that drives something else.; Any driving element in any mechanism, which drives the driven element.
"The driver engages the follower intermittently, as dictated by the solenoid."
- 16 Something that drives something else.; A mallet.
- 17 Something that drives something else.; A tamping iron.
- 18 Something that drives something else.; A cooper's hammer for driving on barrel hoops.
- 19 Something that drives something else.; A screwdriver, a nutdriver, or a bit for such a tool; such bits include nutsetters.
"Among the driver and screw types available, you'll find several cross-slot varieties including the Reed & Prince […]"
- 20 Something that drives something else.; A device that converts an electrical signal to sound waves; the principal component of loudspeakers and headphones.
- 21 Something that drives something else.; A driving wheel of a locomotive. in-plural
"The later iterations of these locomotives had 56-inch drivers."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
"Blank's former girlfriend Debi Newberry (Minnie Driver), whom he jilted in high school, now works as a radio DJ."
- 2 An unincorporated community in Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States.
- 3 A neighbourhood in the city of Suffolk, Virginia, United States.
- 4 An inner suburb of Palmerston, Northern Territory, Australia.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The load was too heavy for a driver to carry alone."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "driver"?
Common synonyms include: device driver, absolute monarch, absolute ruler, accelerating force, agent, airscrew.
How do you use "driver" in a sentence?
The load was too heavy for a driver to carry alone.
How do you pronounce "driver"?
Pronounced /ˈdɹaɪ.və/.
Etymology
From Middle English drivere, dryvere, dryvare, equivalent to drive + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Drieuwer (“driver”), Dutch drijver (“driver”), German Low German Driever (“driver”), German Treiber (“driver”), Swedish drivare (“driver”).