drive

I. verb (drove; driven; driving) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English drīfan; akin to Old High German trīban to drive Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. a. to frighten or prod (as game or cattle) into moving in a desired direction b. to go through (an area) driving game animals 2. to carry on or through energetically <

drives a hard bargain

> 3. a. to impart a forward motion to by physical force <

waves drove the boat ashore

> b. to repulse, remove, or cause to go by force, authority, or influence <

drive the enemy back

> c. to set or keep in motion or operation <

drive machinery by electricity

> d. basketball to move quickly and forcefully down or along <

drive the lane

> <

drive the baseline

> 4. a. to direct the motions and course of (a draft animal) b. to operate the mechanism and controls and direct the course of (as a vehicle) <

drive a car

> c. to convey in a vehicle <

his father drove me home

> d. to float (logs) down a stream 5. a. to exert inescapable or coercive pressure on ; force <

driven by his passions

> b. to compel to undergo or suffer a change (as in situation or emotional state) <

drove him crazy

> <

drove her out of business

> c. to urge relentlessly to continuous exertion <

the sergeant drove his recruits

> d. to press or force into an activity, course, or direction <

the drug habit drives addicts to steal

> e. to project, inject, or impress incisively <

drove her point home

> 6. to force (a passage) by pressing or digging 7. a. to propel (an object of play) swiftly or forcefully <

drove a long fly ball to the warning track

> b. to hit (a golf ball) from the tee especially with a driver; also to drive a golf ball onto (a green) c. to cause (a run or runner) to be scored in baseball — usually used with in 8. to give shape or impulse to <

factors that drive the business cycle

> <

the ideas that have driven history

> intransitive verb 1. a. to dash, plunge, or surge ahead rapidly or violently b. to progress with strong momentum <

the rain was driving hard

> c. to make a quick and forceful move in basketball <

driving to the hoop

> 2. a. to operate a vehicle b. to have oneself carried in a vehicle 3. to drive a golf ball Synonyms: see move • drivability also driveability noun • drivable also driveable adjective II. noun Usage: often attributive Date: 1785 1. an act of driving: a. a trip in a carriage or automobile <

a short drive to the coast

> b. a collection and driving together of animals; also the animals gathered c. a driving of cattle or sheep overland d. a hunt or shoot in which the game is driven within the hunter's range e. the guiding of logs downstream to a mill; also the floating logs amassed in a drive f. (1) the act or an instance of driving an object of play (as a golf ball) (2) the flight of a ball <

a high drive to left field

> 2. a. a private road ; driveway b. a public road for driving (as in a park) 3. the state of being hurried and under pressure 4. a. a strong systematic group effort <

a fund-raising drive

> b. a sustained offensive effort <

the drive ended in a touchdown

> 5. a. the means for giving motion to a machine or machine part b. the means by which the propulsive power of an automobile is applied to the road <

front wheel drive

> c. the means by which the propulsion of an automotive vehicle is controlled and directed <

a left-hand drive

> 6. a. an offensive, aggressive, or expansionist move; especially a strong military attack against enemy-held terrain b. a quick and aggressive move toward the basket in basketball 7. a. an urgent, basic, or instinctual need ; a motivating physiological condition of an organism <

a sexual drive

> b. an impelling culturally acquired concern, interest, or longing <

the drive to succeed

> c. dynamic quality 8. a device for reading or writing on magnetic or optical media (as tapes or disks)