Added 30 September 2026
drive
/dɹaɪv/ verb
In Latin: pellō Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about drive at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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To operate a vehicle: To operate (a wheeled motorized vehicle).
The bridges weren't strong enough to drive (campers) over.
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To operate (a wheeled motorized vehicle).
The bridges weren't strong enough to drive (campers) over.
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To travel by operating a wheeled motorized vehicle.
I drive to work every day.
noun
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Planned, usually long-lasting, effort to achieve something; ability coupled with ambition, determination, and motivation.
Crassus had wealth and wit, but Pompey had drive and Caesar as much again.
- Violent or rapid motion; a rushing onward or away; a forced or hurried dispatch of business.
- An act of driving (prompting) animals forward. An act of driving game animals forward, to be captured or hunted. An act of driving livestock animals forward, to transport a herd.
Origin
From Middle English driven, from Old English drīfan (“to drive, force, move”), from Proto-West Germanic *drīban, from Proto-Germanic *drībaną (“to drive”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- (“to drive, push”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)