drive

A1 Topic:Verbs of Movement

Also spelled druv

US /dɹaɪv/ See IPA manual

noun verb Freq #601

Meanings

1

verb
To control and operate a vehicle such as a car.

She learned to drive when she was eighteen.
2

noun
A journey in a car or other vehicle.

I took my family for a drive in my new car.
3

noun
Strong energy and determination to succeed.

Her drive and energy impressed all her coworkers.
4

noun
A short private road leading up to a house.

They parked the car in the drive.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a journey in a car or other... ride

3 noun · strong energy and... determination motivation

4 noun · a short private road... driveway

Word family

Forms drivabledrivendrivesdrivest

Derived forms bedrivebelt-drivecattle-drivecodrivecounterdrivedrivabledrive-boatdrive-boltdrive-bydrive-by-wiredrive-indrive-line

Related forms dravedrift drove

Common collocations

Etymology

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”). Cognates Cognate with Scots drive (“to drive”), Yola dhreeve, dhrive, dreeve, drieve, drive (“to drive”), North Frisian driiv, driiw, driwe (“to drive”), West Frisian driuwe (“to drive; to float”), Alemannic German triibe (“to drive”), Dutch drijven (“to drive, push”), German treiben (“to drive, push, propel”), Low German drieven (“to drive, drift, push”), Luxembourgish dreiwen (“to dri…

driven Middle English drīfan Old English *drīban Proto-West Germanic *drībaną Proto-Germanic *dʰreybʰ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Verbs of Movement

# drive

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** dɹaɪv
**Frequency rank:** 601

## Meanings
1. To control and operate a vehicle such as a car.
2. A journey in a car or other vehicle.
3. Strong energy and determination to succeed.
4. A short private road leading up to a house.

## Examples
- She learned to drive when she was eighteen.
- I took my family for a drive in my new car.
- Her drive and energy impressed all her coworkers.
- They parked the car in the drive.

## Derived Forms
- bedrive
- belt-drive
- cattle-drive
- codrive
- counterdrive
- drivable
- drive-boat
- drive-bolt
- drive-by
- drive-by-wire
- drive-in
- drive-line

## Related Forms
- drave
- drift
- drove

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: driven
- Root: drīfan
- Root: *drīban
- Root: *drībaną
- Root: *dʰreybʰ-

## Etymology
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”). Cognates Cognate with Scots drive (“to drive”), Yola dhreeve, dhrive, dreeve, drieve, drive (“to drive”), North Frisian driiv, driiw, driwe (“to drive”), West Frisian driuwe (“to drive; to float”), Alemannic German triibe (“to drive”), Dutch drijven (“to drive, push”), German treiben (“to drive, push, propel”), Low German drieven (“to drive, drift, push”), Luxembourgish dreiwen (“to dri…

## AI Etymology
Drive comes 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”). In current use, the main senses are “To control and operate a vehicle such as a car” and “A journey in a car or other vehicle”.

## Topics
- Verbs of Movement

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