to operate and control a car or other vehicle
After getting his license, Jake loved to drive along the ocean road at sunset.
“Could you drive me to the airport at dawn?” Maria asked her brother.
✦ Old English drīfan, meaning ‘to push forward, urge, or impel’.
a trip or journey in a car
Let’s go for a drive around the lake this afternoon.
The drive from my house to the office takes about thirty minutes.
present participle of drive
She is driving to work right now.
While driving, he likes to listen to podcasts.
to strongly cause someone to feel or do something
Loud construction noise can drive me crazy when I’m trying to study.
The coach’s passion drove the team to practice harder every day.
strong determination or energy to achieve something
Her drive and creativity helped the startup succeed.
Athletes need intense drive to train every day.
a large effort by many people to achieve a particular goal
The company launched a marketing drive to attract new customers.
Our school is holding a charity drive to collect winter coats.
to push or force something into another material
The carpenter used a hammer to drive the nail into the wooden beam.
During the storm, waves drove debris against the seawall.
a device that reads, writes, or stores data on a computer or other digital system
I backed up the photos on an external hard drive.
The laptop’s solid-state drive makes it start up in seconds.
a person who operates and controls a vehicle such as a car, bus, or truck
The driver stopped the car to let the children cross the street.
Ella works as a bus driver in the city.
✦ from the verb drive + -er, first recorded in English in the late Middle English period
in golf, the longest-shafted club with a large head used to hit the ball a very long distance from the tee
He hit the ball with a driver and sent it flying down the fairway.
My new driver gives me extra distance off the tee.
✦ named because the club is used to ‘drive’ the ball; recorded in golf terminology by the late 19th century
