drive (drives plural & 3rd person present) (driving present participle) (drove past tense) (driven past participle )
1 verb When you drive somewhere, you operate a car or other vehicle and control its movement and direction.
I drove into town and went to a restaurant for dinner... V prep/adv
She never learned to drive... V
Mrs Glick drove her own car and the girls went in Nancy's convertible. V n
driving n-uncount
...a qualified driving instructor...
2 verb If you drive someone somewhere, you take them there in a car or other vehicle.
His daughter Carly drove him to the train station. V n prep/adv
3 n-count A drive is a journey in a car or other vehicle.
I thought we might go for a drive on Sunday.
4 n-count A drive is a wide piece of hard ground, or sometimes a private road, that leads from the road to a person's house.
(=driveway)
5 verb If something drives a machine, it supplies the power that makes it work.
The current flows into electric motors that drive the wheels. V n
6 n-count 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.
usu supp N
...equipment such as terminals, tape drives or printers.
→
disk drive
7 verb If you drive something such as a nail into something else, you push it in or hammer it in using a lot of effort.
I used a sledgehammer to drive the pegs into the ground... V n prep
I held it still and drove in a nail. V n with adv
8 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.
Armstrong drove the ball into the roof of the net. V n prep/adv, Also V n
9 verb If the wind, rain, or snow drives in a particular direction, it moves with great force in that direction.
Rain drove against the window. V prep/adv
driving adj ADJ n
He crashed into a tree in driving rain.
10 verb If you drive people or animals somewhere, you make them go to or from that place.
The last offensive drove thousands of people into Thailand... V n prep
The smoke also drove mosquitoes away. V n with adv
11 verb To drive someone into a particular state or situation means to force them into that state or situation.
The recession and hospital bills drove them into bankruptcy... V n into/to n
He nearly drove Elsie mad with his fussing. V n adj
12 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.
More than once, depression drove him to attempt suicide... V n to-inf
Jealousy drives people to murder... V n to n
...people who are driven by guilt, resentment and anxiety. be V-ed
...a man driven by a pathological need to win. V-ed
13 n-uncount If you say that someone has drive, you mean they have energy and determination.
John will be best remembered for his drive and enthusiasm.
14 n-count A drive is a very strong need or desire in human beings that makes them act in particular ways.
...compelling, dynamic sex drives.
15 n-sing A drive is a special effort made by a group of people for a particular purpose.
with supp
(=campaign)
The ANC is about to launch a nationwide recruitment drive...
16 n-in-names Drive is used in the names of some streets.
...23 Queen's Drive, Malvern, Worcestershire.
18 If you ask someone what they are driving at, you are asking what they are trying to say or what they are saying indirectly.
what someone is driving at phrase V inflects
It was clear Cohen didn't understand what Millard was driving at.
19 →
to drive a hard bargain →
bargain drive away phrasal verb To drive people away means to make them want to go away or stay away. Patrick's boorish rudeness soon drove Monica's friends away... V n P Increased crime is driving away customers. V P n (not pron) drive off phrasal verb If you drive someone or something off, you force them to go away and to stop attacking you or threatening you. The government drove the guerrillas off with infantry and air strikes... V n P Men drove off the dogs with stones. V P n (not pron) drive out phrasal verb To drive out something means to make it disappear or stop operating. He cut his rates to drive out rivals. V P n (not pron)
CD-ROM drive (CD-ROM drives plural )A CD-ROM drive is the device that you use with a computer to play CD-ROMs. (COMPUTING) n-count
disk drive (disk drives plural )
in BRIT, also use disc drive The disk drive on a computer is the part that contains the disk or into which a disk can be inserted. The disk drive allows you to read information from the disk and store information on the disk. n-count
drink-drive , drink drive
Drink-drive means relating to drink-driving. adj ADJ n
He was nearly three times over the drink drive limit.
drive-by
A drive-by shooting or a drive-by murder involves shooting someone from a moving car. adj ADJ n
drive-in (drive-ins plural )A drive-in is a restaurant, cinema, or other commercial place which is specially designed so that customers can use the services provided while staying in their cars. n-count
...fast food drive-ins.
Drive-in is also an adjective., adj ADJ n
...a drive-in movie theater.
drive shaft (drive shafts plural )A drive shaft is a shaft in a car or other vehicle that transfers power from the gear box to the wheels. n-count
drive-through
A drive-through shop or restaurant is one where you can buy things without leaving your car. adj ADJ n
...a drive-through burger bar.
fly-drive
On a fly-drive holiday, you travel part of the way to your destination by aeroplane, and collect a hired car at the airport so that you can drive the rest of the way. adj ADJ n
...a fly-drive break in New Zealand.
four-wheel drive (four-wheel drives plural )A four-wheel drive is a vehicle in which all four wheels receive power from the engine to help with steering. This makes the vehicle easier to drive on rough roads or surfaces such as sand or snow. n-count
left-hand drive
A left-hand drive vehicle has the steering wheel on the left side, and is designed to be used in countries where people drive on the right-hand side of the road. adj usu ADJ n
right-hand drive
A right-hand drive vehicle has its steering wheel on the right side. It is designed to be driven in countries such as Britain, Japan, and Australia where people drive on the left side of the road. adj usu ADJ n (Antonym: left-hand drive)
self-drive
1 adj A self-drive car is one which you hire and drive yourself.
(BRIT) ADJ n
Any holiday in the USA and Canada is enhanced by renting a self-drive car.
in AM, use rental car
2 adj A self-drive holiday is one where you drive yourself to the place where you are staying, rather than being taken there by plane or coach.
(BRIT) ADJ n
...the growth in popularity of self-drive camping holidays.
zip drive (zip drives plural )A zip drive is a piece of computer equipment that you use for storing large amounts of data. (COMPUTING) n-count
Zip drives help people to organise their important information.
