drive

/draɪv/

/draɪv/

Other forms: driven; drove; driving; drives

To drive is to operate or travel in a motor vehicle. You can drive a car, a bus, or a go-kart.

Drive is one of those multi-functioning words with a lot of uses. In a very general sense it relates to pushing, or a push in a direction; drive and go go hand in hand. You could drive across country, drive cattle on a cattle drive, drive a golf ball by hitting it off a tee, drive prey into the open, clean your computer’s hard drive, or drive someone crazy. But do you really have the drive to do all that?

Definitions of drive

1. verb

   operate or control a vehicle
   “drive a car or bus”

   “Can you drive this four-wheel truck?”

   synonyms:

   take

   proceed along in a vehicle

   ride

   have certain properties when driven

   types:

   coach

   drive a coach

   test drive

   test a vehicle by driving it

   tool

   drive

   pull

   move into a certain direction

   type of:

   control, operate

   handle and cause to function
2. verb

   travel or be transported in a vehicle
   “We drove to the university every morning”

   synonyms: motor

   take

   proceed along in a vehicle

   type of:

   go, locomote, move, travel

   change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
3. verb

   proceed along in a vehicle
   “We drive the turnpike to work”

   synonyms: take

   motor

   travel or be transported in a vehicle

   type of:

   cover, cross, cut across, cut through, get across, get over, pass over, track, traverse

   travel across or pass over
4. verb

   move by being propelled by a force
   “The car drove around the corner”

   types:

   pull

   move into a certain direction

   cut in

   drive in front of another vehicle leaving too little space for that vehicle to maneuver comfortably

   type of:

   go, locomote, move, travel

   change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
5. verb

   cause someone or something to move by driving
   “She drove me to school every day”

   “We drove the car to the garage”

   synonyms:

   take

   proceed along in a vehicle

   types:

   pull

   steer into a certain direction

   chauffeur, drive around

   drive someone in a vehicle

   type of:

   displace, move

   cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
6. verb

   have certain properties when driven
   “My new truck drives well”

   synonyms: ride

   ride

   be carried or travel on or in a vehicle
7. verb

   work as a driver
   “He drives a bread truck”

   “She drives for the taxi company in Newark”

   type of:

   do work, work

   be employed
8. noun

   a journey in a vehicle (usually an automobile)
   “he took the family for a drive in his new car”

   synonyms: ride

   types:

   lift

   a ride in a car

   joyride

   a ride in a car taken solely for pleasure

   spin

   a short drive in a car

   type of:

   journey, journeying

   the act of traveling from one place to another
9. noun

   a wide scenic road planted with trees
   “the riverside drive offers many exciting scenic views”

   synonyms: parkway

   type of:

   road, route

   an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
10. noun

    a road leading up to a private house
    synonyms: driveway, private road

    type of:

    road, route

    an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
11. verb

    push, propel, or press with force
    “Drive a nail into the wall”

    type of:

    impel, propel

    cause to move forward with force
12. verb

    cause to move rapidly by striking or throwing with force
    “drive the ball far out into the field”

    synonyms:

    beat back, force back, push back, repel, repulse

    cause to move back by force or influence

    type of:

    throw

    propel through the air
13. verb

    hit very hard, as by swinging a bat horizontally
    “drive a ball”

    type of:

    hit

    cause to move by striking
14. verb

    strike with a driver, as in teeing off
    “drive a golf ball”

    type of:

    hit

    cause to move by striking
15. verb

    urge forward
    “drive the cows into the barn”

    types:

    mush

    drive (a team of dogs or a dogsled)

    type of:

    force, push

    move with force
16. verb

    cause to move back by force or influence
    synonyms: beat back, force back, push back, repel, repulse

    type of:

    force, push

    move with force
17. verb

    (hunting) search for game
    “drive the forest”

    type of:

    hunt, hunt down, run, track down

    pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)
18. verb

    (hunting) chase from cover into more open ground
    “drive the game”

    type of:

    hunt, hunt down, run, track down

    pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)
19. verb

    excavate horizontally
    “drive a tunnel”

    type of:

    dig, excavate, hollow

    remove the inner part or the core of
20. verb

    cause to function by supplying the force or power for or by controlling
    “The amplifier drives the tube”

    “steam drives the engines”

    “this device drives the disks for the computer”

    type of:

    power

    supply the force or power for the functioning of
21. verb

    force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically
    “He drives me mad”

    synonyms: force, ram

    types:

    toe, toenail

    drive obliquely

    type of:

    thrust

    push forcefully
22. verb

    compel or force or urge relentlessly or exert coercive pressure on, or motivate strongly
    “She is driven by her passion”

    synonyms:

    force, ram

    force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically

    type of:

    coerce, force, hale, pressure, squeeze

    cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means
23. noun

    the act of applying force to propel something
    “after reaching the desired velocity the drive is cut off”

    synonyms: driving force, thrust

    types:

    firewall

    (colloquial) the application of maximum thrust

    impetus, impulse, impulsion

    the act of applying force suddenly

    type of:

    actuation, propulsion

    the act of propelling
24. noun

    a mechanism by which force or power is transmitted in a machine
    “a variable speed drive permitted operation through a range of speeds”

    types:

    fusee, fusee drive

    a spirally grooved spindle in a clock that counteracts the diminishing power of the uncoiling mainspring

    type of:

    mechanism

    device consisting of a piece of machinery; has moving parts that perform some function
25. noun

    the act of driving a herd of animals over land
    types:

    cattle drive

    driving a bovine herd (as cows or bulls or steers)

    type of:

    conveyance, transfer, transferral, transport, transportation

    the act of moving something from one location to another
26. noun

    (sports) a hard straight return (as in tennis or squash)
    types:

    forehand drive

    (sports) hard straight return made on the forehand side (as in tennis or badminton or squash)

    backhand drive

    a hard straight return made on the backhand side

    type of:

    return

    a tennis stroke that sends the ball back to the other player
27. noun

    hitting a golf ball off of a tee with a driver
    “he sliced his drive out of bounds”

    synonyms: driving

    type of:

    golf shot, golf stroke, swing

    the act of swinging a golf club at a golf ball and (usually) hitting it
28. noun

    (computer science) a device that writes data onto or reads data from a storage medium
    types:

    CD drive

    a drive that reads a compact disc and that is connected to an audio system

    CD-ROM drive

    a drive that is connected to a computer and on which a CD-ROM can be `played'

    Winchester drive, disc drive, disk drive, hard drive

    computer hardware that holds and spins a magnetic or optical disk and reads and writes information on it

    external drive

    a drive with its own power supply and fan mounted outside the computer system enclosure and connected to the computer by a cable

    internal drive

    a drive mounted inside of a computer

    RAM disk

    (computer science) a virtual drive that is created by setting aside part of the random-access memory to use as if it were a group of sectors

    type of:

    device

    an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose
29. verb

    strive and make an effort to reach a goal
    “She is driving away at her doctoral thesis”

    synonyms: labor, labour, push, tug

    bear on, push

    press, drive, or impel (someone) to action or completion of an action

    types:

    reach, strain, strive

    to exert much effort or energy

    extend oneself

    strain to the utmost

    kill oneself, overexert oneself

    strain oneself more than is healthy

    bother, inconvenience oneself, trouble, trouble oneself

    take the trouble to do something; concern oneself

    type of:

    fight, struggle

    make a strenuous or labored effort
30. verb

    compel somebody to do something, often against his own will or judgment
    “She finally drove him to change jobs”

    synonyms:

    force, ram

    force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically

    type of:

    make

    compel or make somebody or something to act in a certain way
31. verb

    move into a desired direction of discourse
    “What are you driving at?”

    synonyms: aim, get

    type of:

    intend, mean

    mean or intend to express or convey
32. noun

    a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end
    “the team was ready for a drive toward the pennant”

    synonyms: campaign, cause, crusade, effort, movement

    types:

    ad blitz, ad campaign, advertising campaign

    an organized program of advertisements

    anti-war movement

    a campaign against entering or continuing a war

    charm campaign

    a campaign of flattery and friendliness (by a company, politician, etc.) to become more popular and gain support

    consumerism

    a movement advocating greater protection of the interests of consumers

    campaigning, candidacy, candidature, electioneering, political campaign

    the state of being officially considered for a position, award, degree, or elected office

    fund-raising campaign, fund-raising drive, fund-raising effort

    a campaign to raise money for some cause

    feminism, feminist movement, women's lib, women's liberation movement

    the movement aimed at equal rights for women

    gay lib, gay liberation movement

    the movement aimed at liberating homosexuals from legal or social or economic oppression

    lost cause

    a defeated cause or a cause for which defeat is inevitable

    reform

    a campaign aimed to correct abuses or malpractices

    war

    a concerted campaign to end something that is injurious

    youth crusade, youth movement

    political or religious or social reform movement or agitation consisting chiefly of young people

    front-porch campaign, front-porch campaigning

    a campaign in which the candidate makes speeches but does not travel

    hustings

    the activities involved in political campaigning (especially speech making)

    whispering campaign

    the organized dissemination of derogatory rumors designed to discredit a candidate

    stumping

    campaigning for something by making political speeches (stump speeches)

    sales campaign

    an advertising campaign intended to promote sales

    public-relations campaign

    an advertising campaign intended to improve public relations

    type of:

    venture

    any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome
33. noun

    a physiological state corresponding to a strong need or desire
    types:

    hunger, hungriness

    a physiological need for food; the consequence of food deprivation

    thirst, thirstiness

    a physiological need to drink

    sex drive

    a physiological need for sexual activity

    hypoxia

    oxygen deficiency causing a very strong drive to correct the deficiency

    bulimia, hyperphagia

    pathologically insatiable hunger (especially when caused by brain lesions)

    emptiness

    having an empty stomach

    edacity, esurience, ravenousness, voraciousness, voracity

    excessive desire to eat

    famishment, starvation

    a state of extreme hunger resulting from lack of essential nutrients over a prolonged period

    malnourishment, undernourishment

    not having enough food to develop or function normally

    dehydration

    depletion of bodily fluids

    polydipsia

    excessive thirst (as in cases of diabetes or kidney dysfunction)

    anemic hypoxia

    hypoxia resulting from a decreased concentration of hemoglobin

    hypoxic hypoxia

    hypoxia resulting from defective oxygenation of the blood in the lungs

    ischemic hypoxia, stagnant hypoxia

    hypoxia resulting from slow peripheral circulation (such as follows congestive cardiac failure)

    altitude sickness

    effects (as nosebleed or nausea) of oxygen deficiency in the blood and tissues at high altitudes

    anoxia

    severe hypoxia; absence of oxygen in inspired gases or in arterial blood or in the tissues

    asphyxiation, suffocation

    the condition of being deprived of oxygen (as by having breathing stopped)

    type of:

    physical condition, physiological condition, physiological state

    the condition or state of the body or bodily functions
34. noun

    the trait of being highly motivated
    “his drive and energy exhausted his co-workers”

    types:

    action

    the trait of being active and energetic and forceful

    enterprise, enterprisingness, go-ahead, initiative

    readiness to embark on bold new ventures

    ambition, ambitiousness

    a strong drive for success

    energy, get-up-and-go, push

    enterprising or ambitious drive

    aggressiveness

    the quality of being bold and enterprising

    aspiration

    a will to succeed

    power hunger, status seeking

    a drive to acquire power

    second wind

    renewed energy or strength to continue an undertaking

    competitiveness, fight

    an aggressive willingness to compete

    combativeness, militance, militancy

    a militant aggressiveness

    intrusiveness, meddlesomeness, officiousness

    aggressiveness as evidenced by intruding; by advancing yourself or your ideas without invitation

    boldness, brass, cheek, face, nerve

    impudent aggressiveness

    type of:

    trait

    a distinguishing feature of your personal nature