drive-in

noun

ˈdrīv-ˌin 

: an establishment (such as a theater or restaurant) so laid out that patrons can be accommodated while remaining in their automobiles

drive-in adjective

Examples of drive-in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Best Places to Stay Along with lodges, hotels, and cabin rentals, Mount Rainier has three drive-in campgrounds as well as wilderness camping options with a permit. —Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 24 Nov. 2025

The drive-in burger joint received a yellow placard after health inspectors found dead flies and mold. —Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 21 Nov. 2025

Netflix House builds on successful popups starting in 2020 with a Stranger Things drive-in the thick of Covid. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 10 Nov. 2025

In the opening of this 1957 bargain-bin drive-in picture, a mid-century WASP patriarch in the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit mold (Whit Bissell) plucks the body of a student athlete (Gary Conway) from a flaming bus crash. —Katie Rife, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1931, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for drive-in

• aneurin
• crystallin
• eosin
• mandolin
• porphyrin
• underpin
• violin
• akin
• auxin
• buckskin
• chagrin
• deerskin

Kids Definition

drive-in

noun

ˈdrī-ˌvin

: a business (as a movie theater or restaurant) set up so that customers can be served or provided for while remaining in their automobiles

drive-in adjective