Etymology

drīfan
The original meaning was more like "to push". The modern senses can all be seen to derive from this. For example, carts were driven (pushed) or drawn (pulled) long before automobiles were invented.

Verb

1. To herd (animals) in a particular direction.
2. To direct a vehicle powered by a horse, ox or similar animal.
3. To cause animals to flee out of.

   The beaters drove the brambles, causing a great rush of rabbits and other creatures.

4. To move (something) by hitting it with great force.

   You drive nails into wood with a hammer.

5. To cause (a mechanism) to operate.

   The pistons drive the crankshaft.

6. To operate (a wheeled motorized vehicle).
7. To motivate; to provide an incentive for.

   What drives a person to run a marathon?

8. To compel (to do something).

   Their debts finally drove them to sell the business.

9. To cause to become.

   This constant complaining is going to drive me to insanity.

   You are driving me crazy!

10. To hit the ball with a drive.
11. To travel by operating a wheeled motorized vehicle.

    I drive to work every day.

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

    My wife drove me to the airport.

Synonyms

herd force, push move, operate impel, incentivise/incentivize, motivate, push, urge compel, force, oblige, push, require make, send take

Noun

1. Self-motivation; ability coupled with ambition.

   Crassus had wealth and wit, but Pompey had drive and Caesar as much again.

2. A sustained advance in the face of the enemy to take a strategic objective.

   Napoleon's drive on Moscow was as determined as it was disastrous.

3. A motor that does not take fuel, but instead depends on a mechanism that stores potential energy for subsequent use.

   Some old model trains have clockwork drives.

4. A trip made in a motor vehicle.

   It was a long drive.

5. A driveway.

   The mansion had a long, tree-lined drive.

6. A type of public roadway.

   Beverly Hills’ most famous street is Rodeo Drive.

7. Desire or interest.
8. An apparatus for reading and writing data to or from a mass storage device such as a disk, as a floppy drive.
9. A mass storage device in which the mechanism for reading and writing data is integrated with the mechanism for storing data, as a hard drive, a flash drive.
10. A stroke made with a driver.
11. A ball struck in a flat trajectory.
12. A type of shot played by swinging the bat in a vertical arc, through the line of the ball, and hitting it along the ground, normally between cover and midwicket.

Usage notes

• In connection with a mass-storage device, originally the word "drive" referred solely to the reading and writing mechanism. For the storage device itself, the word "disk" was used instead. This remains a valid distinction for components such as floppy drives or CD drives, in which the drive and the disk are separate and independent items. For other devices, such as hard disks and flash drives, the reading, writing and storage components are combined into an integrated whole, and can not be separated without destroying the device. In these cases, the words "disk" and "drive" are used interchangeably.

Synonyms

ambition, enthusiasm, get-up-and-go, motivation, self-motivation, verve attack, push engine, mechanism, motor ride, spin, trip approach, driveway avenue, boulevard, road, street desire, impetus, impulse, urge disk drive line drive