- 1 [countable] a journey in a car or other vehicle Let's go for a drive. a drive through the mountains It's a three-hour drive to London. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivelong, easy, short, … verb + drivego for, take drive + nountime prepositionwithin a drive phrasesa… drive away See full entry See related entries: Driving
- 2[countable, uncountable] the equipment in a vehicle that takes power from the engine to the wheels the drive shaft a car with four-wheel drive a left-/right-hand drive car (= a car where the driver and the controls are on the left/right) Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveall-wheel, four-wheel, front-wheel, … See full entry outside house
- 3(also driveway) [countable] a wide hard path or a private road that leads from the street to a house There were two cars parked in/on the drive. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivewinding, gravel, tree-lined, … drive + verblead to, lead up to drive + nounblock prepositiondown the drive, in the drive, on the drive, … See full entry See related entries: House location, Types of road effort
- 4[countable] an organized effort by a group of people to achieve something a recruitment/export/economy drive drive for something a drive for greater efficiency drive to do something the government’s drive to reduce energy consumption Synonymscampaignbattle struggle drive war fightThese are all words for an effort made to achieve or prevent something.campaign a series of planned activities that are intended to achieve a particular social, commercial or political aim:the campaign for parliamentary reform an advertising campaign battle a competition or argument between people or groups of people trying to win power or control:She finally won the legal battle for compensation. the endless battle between man and naturestruggle a competition or argument between people or groups of people trying to win power or control:the struggle for independence the struggle between good and evilbattle or struggle?A struggle is always about things that seem absolutely necessary, such as life and death or freedom. A battle can also be about things that are not absolutely necessary, just desirable, or about the pleasure of winning:the battle/struggle between good and evil a legal struggle for compensation a struggle of wills/wits.drive an organized effort by a group of people to achieve something:the drive for greater efficiency a drive to reduce energy consumptioncampaign or drive?A campaign is usually aimed at getting other people to do something; a drive may be an attempt by people to get themselves to do something:From today, we’re going on an economy drive(= we must spend less). A campaign may be larger, more formal and more organized than a drive.war [sing.] an effort over a long period of time to get rid of or stop something bad:the war against crimefight [sing.] the work of trying to stop or prevent something bad or achieve something good; an act of competing, especially in a sport:Workers won their fight to stop compulsory redundancies.war or fight? A war is about stopping things, like drugs and crime, that everyone agrees are bad. A fight can be about achieving justice for yourself. Patterns a campaign/battle/struggle/drive/war/fight against something a campaign/battle/struggle/drive/fight for something a one-man/one-woman/personal campaign/battle/struggle/war a bitter campaign/battle/struggle/drive/war/fight to launch/embark on a campaign/battle/drive to lead/continue the campaign/battle/struggle/drive/fight to win/lose a battle/struggle/war/fight Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebig, relentless, national, … verb + drivelaunch, organize, spearhead, … prepositiondrive against, drive by, drive for, … See full entry desire/energy
- 5[countable, uncountable] a strong desire or need in people a strong sexual drive Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebasic, innate, inner, … See full entry
- 6[uncountable] (approving) a strong desire to do things and achieve something; great energy He'll do very well—he has tremendous drive. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivecompetitive, personal, narrative, … verb + drivehave, lack See full entry See related entries: Energetic in sport
- 7[countable] a long hard hit or kick She has a strong forehand drive (= in tennis). He scored with a brilliant 25-yard drive. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivepowerful, strong, thunderous, … verb + drivehit, hook, slice, … See full entry See related entries: Tennis, Golf computing
- 8[countable] the part of a computer that reads and stores information on disks or tapes a 750GB hard drive a CD drive Wordfindercomputercomputer, display, drive, keyboard, memory, platform, program, reboot, router, screen see also disk drive Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveCD-ROM, disk, DVD, … verb + driveformat, reformat, defrag, … drive + nounbay See full entry games
- 9[countable] (British English) a social occasion when a lot of people compete in a game such as whist or bingo animals/enemy
- 10[countable] an act of chasing animals or the enemy and making them go into a smaller area, especially in order to kill or capture them road
- 11Drive (abbreviation Dr) used in the names of roads 21 Island Heights Drive Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivewinding, gravel, tree-lined, … drive + verblead to, lead up to drive + nounblock prepositiondown the drive, in the drive, on the drive, … See full entry Word OriginOld English drīfan ‘urge (a person or animal) to go forward’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch drijven and German treiben.Extra examples A lack of narrative drive leaves the reader with piecemeal vignettes. A number of police cars blocked the drive. All my family live within an hour’s drive. Cole scored with a thunderous left-foot drive. He hit a line drive straight at me. He lacks the competitive drive needed to succeed. He pulled into a long drive leading up to a large villa. He walked up the front drive of the vicarage. It’s a pleasant drive to the coast. It’s one of the most scenic drives in Europe. Left-hand drive cars make driving in Britain difficult. Let’s go for a drive. The Popular Front spearheaded the drive for independence. The lakes are only a short drive away. The spots will run during drive time radio. There was a car parked on the drive. We organized a food drive for the city’s homeless shelters. We’re going to launch a big recruitment drive in the autumn. You need to inject more narrative drive into the story. a drive against corruption a drive towards higher safety standards a forehand drive down the line a housing development within a 30-minute drive time from the airport the country’s drive for modernization the recent recruitment drive by the police From today, we’re going on an economy drive. He offered to take me for a drive later in the day. He played a crucial role in the drive for greater efficiency. He was tired after the long drive home. He’ll do very well—he has tremendous drive. I took the car for a test drive. She is leading the recruitment drive. The beach is a 20-minute drive away. The government has launched a drive to reduce energy consumption. The treatment should not affect your sex drive or fertility. We have this insatiable drive to be successful in the markets we serve. We went for a drive along the coast.
noun jump to other results
BrE BrE//draɪv//; NAmE NAmE//draɪv//
Energetic, Tennis, Golf, House location, Types of road, Driving
Check pronunciation: drive
