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drive

verb · noun

Simple meaning

Operate or control a vehicle.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

dryv
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈdɹaɪv

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Operate or control a vehicle

  2. transitiveergative

    To operate (a wheeled motorized vehicle).

  3. Travel or be transported in a vehicle

  4. intransitive

    To travel by operating a wheeled motorized vehicle.

  5. transitive

    To convey (a person, etc.) in a wheeled motorized vehicle.

  6. transitive

    To cause (a mechanism) to operate.

noun

  1. An act of driving (prompting) animals forward.

  2. Planned, usually long-lasting, effort to achieve something; ability coupled with ambition, determination, and motivation.

  3. Violent or rapid motion; a rushing onward or away; (especially) a forced or hurried dispatch of business.

  4. A mechanism used to power or give motion to a vehicle or other machine or machine part.

  5. A trip made in a vehicle (now generally in a motor vehicle).

  6. A type of public roadway.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Operate or control a vehicle

Used this way, drive is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

drive awaydisk drivedrive homesex drivewheel drive

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • drivernounInflected form

    The operator of a motor vehicle.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • drive-by shootingnounCompound term

    Shooting someone from a car as it is driven past the victim.

  • drive homeverbCompound term

    Carry out or perform.

  • drive-innounCompound term

    Any installation designed to accommodate patrons in their automobiles.

  • drive linenounCompound term

    Mechanism that transmits power from the engine to the driving wheels of a motor vehicle.

  • drive line systemnounCompound term

    Mechanism that transmits power from the engine to the driving wheels of a motor vehicle.

  • drive offverbCompound term

    Force to go away.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • driver's licencenounRelated term

    A license authorizing the bearer to drive a motor vehicle.

  • driver's licensenounRelated term

    A license authorizing the bearer to drive a motor vehicle.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: operate or control a vehicle

toolDatedpullmotor

Antonyms

Sense: operate or control a vehicle

pullpull in

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.