drive-by

1 of 2

adjective

1
: carried out from a moving vehicle
a drive-by shooting
2
: done or made in a quick or cursory manner

drive-by

2 of 2

noun

plural drive-bys
: a drive-by shooting

Examples of drive-by in a Sentence

Adjective the administrator's schedule left her with no time to make more than a drive-by assessment of the situation
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Unsettling video shows a 9-year-old child in Texas dodging bullets as a drive-by shooting happens right outside his apartment. Andrea Vacchiano, Fox News, 16 May 2024 Tupac, who is widely recognized as one of the greatest and most charismatic rappers of all time, was murdered back in 1996, in a drive-by shooting on the streets of Las Vegas. Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 14 May 2024 The family of a 9-year-old who ducked bullets coming through the wall of their west Fort Worth apartment during a drive-by shooting earlier this month is asking for help relocating. Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2024 Early on Tuesday morning, a security guard was shot in a drive-by incident and was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 10 May 2024 Drake was uninjured in the incident and the Associated Press reported that police are attempting to identify the assailant in the drive-by. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 8 May 2024 Shooters in an unidentified vehicle fired shots at its entrance in a drive-by, and the security guard was rushed to the hospital for serious yet non-life-threatening injuries. Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 8 May 2024 Family members of two children who were seriously injured in last week’s drive-by shooting at a west Fort Worth apartment complex say their little ones face a long recovery. Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 May 2024 The youngest victim of the drive-by shooting is 3 years old and the oldest is 19, according to Fort Worth police. Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 May 2024
Noun
There’s a confidence to running your restaurant in a neighborhood that doesn’t rely on tourists, window shoppers or drive-by traffic. Mara Severin | Eating Out, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Mar. 2023 According to The Columbian, at the time of his arrest Sunday, Warren was out on bail after being charged with drive-by shooting, assault and felony harassment; he is accused of firing a gun at Melendez's apartment earlier this month. Tristan Balagtas, Peoplemag, 23 Mar. 2023 He was charged with drive-by shooting, second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, gross misdemeanor harassment with bodily injury and two counts of fourth-degree assault. Savannaheadens, oregonlive, 23 Mar. 2023 Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials on Tuesday announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the drive-by killing of the father of former NBA player Richard Jefferson 4½ years ago. Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2023 One of three suspects charged in the fatal drive-by shooting of a Huntsville toddler five years ago was convicted Wednesday of capital murder. Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 22 Mar. 2023 With the highway running through it, Atoka already has more drive-by traffic than those towns. Priya Krishna, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2023 The pair usually do a drive-by perusal of the blossoms but decided to make a day of it this year. Marvin Joseph, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2023 Three weeks later, he was arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting near a Tacoma, Wash., shopping mall. The Indianapolis Star, 17 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drive-by.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1968, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1977, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of drive-by was in 1968

Dictionary Entries Near drive-by

Cite this Entry

“Drive-by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drive-by. Accessed 22 May. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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