1
: carried out from a moving vehicle
a drive-by shooting
2
: done or made in a quick or cursory manner
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
Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2025
The county attorney’s office charged the 16-year-old with drive-by shooting (recklessly discharging a firearm at a person while in or having just exited a vehicle), recklessly discharging a firearm within a municipality and possession of a firearm by a person under 18.
—Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 23 July 2025
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
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Adjective
The man also worked with Deputy Sheriff’s Patrick Thomas Rohrer and Theresa Sue King, who were fatally shot while transporting an inmate in 2018; Capt. Robert Melton, who was fatally shot while attempting to apprehend a suspect in a drive-by shooting in 2016; and Det.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2025
The county attorney’s office charged the 16-year-old with drive-by shooting (recklessly discharging a firearm at a person while in or having just exited a vehicle), recklessly discharging a firearm within a municipality and possession of a firearm by a person under 18.
—Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 23 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for drive-by
Cite this Entry
“Drive-by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drive-by. Accessed 3 Aug. 2025.
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