1 a : to direct the movement of (a car, truck, bus, etc.) [+ obj] ▪ He drove the car down a bumpy road. ▪ She drives a taxi. [=her job is driving a taxi] [no obj] ▪ Do you want to drive or should I? ▪ He is learning to drive.
b always followed by an adverb or preposition [no obj] of a car, truck, etc. : to move in a specified manner or direction
▪ The car stopped and then drove off. ▪ A car drove by us slowly. ▪ The bus slowly drove away.
c : to travel in a car [no obj] ▪ We drove all night and arrived at dawn. ▪ Are you driving or flying to Canada? [=will you travel to Canada by car or airplane?] ▪ We drove (for) eight hours yesterday. ▪ We drove 160 miles to get here. ▪ I drive on/along this route every day. [+ obj] ▪ I drive this route every day.
d [+ obj] : to take (someone or something) to a place in a car, truck, etc.
▪ I drove her to the train station this morning. ▪ I had to drive myself to the hospital. ▪ Her mom drove us home.
e [+ obj] : to own and use (a vehicle of a specified kind)
▪ He drives a pickup/motorcycle. ▪ She drives a Ford. 2 [+ obj] : to move (people or animals) to or from a place by using force
▪ Cowboys drove the herds across the prairie. ▪ They drove the invaders back across the border. ▪ Thousands of people have been driven from their homes. [=have been forced to leave their homes] 3 [+ obj] : to push (something) with force
▪ drive a nail with a hammer — often + into ▪ He drove a nail into the wall. ▪ She drove the sword into her enemy's side. 4 [+ obj] : to make (a machine or vehicle) work or move : to provide power for (something)
▪ Electricity drives the machinery. ▪ a steam-driven turbine [=a turbine that gets its power from steam] — often used figuratively ▪ What drives the economy? ▪ a market-driven industry 5 [+ obj] a : to cause (someone) to behave in a particular way
▪ They were driven [=motivated] by hunger to steal. ▪ Poverty drove them to a life of crime. ▪ Ambition drove her to succeed.
b : to force (someone) to work very hard
▪ The sergeant drove the recruits. ▪ The team was driven hard by the coach. ▪ He's been driving himself too hard. [=he's been working too hard] 6 [+ obj] : to bring (someone) into a particular condition
▪ That noise is driving me insane/crazy. ▪ The new store drove him out of business. [=caused him to go out of business] ▪ Her perfume drives me wild. [=gets me sexually excited] 7 [+ obj] : to cause (a price, number, etc.) to increase or decrease — + up or down ▪ The government report drove stock prices up. ▪ An increase in investments is driving down interest rates. 8 [no obj] sports : to move toward or through something with a lot of force or speed
▪ He took a pass and drove to/toward the basket/net. ▪ The running back drove through the line of scrimmage. 9 [+ obj] sports : to hit or kick (a ball or puck) with a lot of force or speed
▪ She drove the (golf) ball down the fairway. ▪ He drove the puck into the net. — see also driving range 10 [no obj] of rain, wind, etc. : to fall or blow with great force
▪ The rain drove against the windows. — see also driving