as in hurried
acting or done with excessive or careless speed
the administrator's schedule left her with no time to make more than a drive-by assessment of the situation
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of drive-by
Police in Chicago said four people were killed and 14 more were hospitalized in a drive-by mass shooting late on Wednesday, July 2.
—
Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 July 2025
At least four people were killed and 14 others wounded in a drive-by shooting outside a record release party for the rapper Mello Buckzz in Chicago’s River North neighborhood on Wednesday night, CBS News reports.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 3 July 2025
People walk past Artis Restaurant and Lounge, in the morning hours after a drive-by mass shooting that killed four people and wounded 14 more on the 300 block of West Chicago Avenue in the River North neighborhood on July 3, 2025.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 3 July 2025
While in his second year with the Broncos, Williams was killed on New Year’s Day in 2007, in a drive-by shooting by Willie Clark, who was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to life in prison plus 1,152 years.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for drive-by
Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 July 2025
At least four people were killed and 14 others wounded in a drive-by shooting outside a record release party for the rapper Mello Buckzz in Chicago’s River North neighborhood on Wednesday night, CBS News reports.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 3 July 2025
People walk past Artis Restaurant and Lounge, in the morning hours after a drive-by mass shooting that killed four people and wounded 14 more on the 300 block of West Chicago Avenue in the River North neighborhood on July 3, 2025.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 3 July 2025
While in his second year with the Broncos, Williams was killed on New Year’s Day in 2007, in a drive-by shooting by Willie Clark, who was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to life in prison plus 1,152 years.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for drive-by
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drive-by
Adjective
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After a hurried recovery period in his upstate hospital, Dexter heads to New York City, where his son Harrison (Jack Alcott) has moved.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
10 July 2025
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Here’s how Kansas and Missouri representatives and senators voted in the hurried push to pass President Trump’s massive, controversial spending bill.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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But responses can take days, and even then, evaluations are often cursory, according to detainees and their families.—
Dhruv Mehrotra,
Wired News,
25 June 2025
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Revelations about the physical and mental health of presidential candidates often tend to be cursory and minimal.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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Those symptoms include fever, cough, rash, watery eyes, runny nose and small white spots inside the mouth and throat.—
Austin American Statesman,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
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There's no need to really make a decision -- a rash decision -- because the guy doesn't want to go to some OTAs.—
DJ Siddiqi,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Adjective
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Outfits that once felt aspirational quickly become irrelevant, leaving behind a cycle of impulsive purchases, lukewarm satisfaction, and the constant itch for reinvention.—
Jailynn Taylor,
Essence,
8 July 2025
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Back in 1937, Winfield James, Harry Caldwell and Jimmy Pickard — three impulsive teens from Abilene, just out of high school and trying to avoid summer jobs — paddled a small canoe some 660 miles down the Colorado from Ballinger, Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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Such shifts would allow Washington to update its global force posture without hasty changes that surprise allies and create security gaps leading to deterrence failures.—
REBECCA LISSNER,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
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Analysts and investors say that may have been a little hasty.—
Tanaya Macheel,
CNBC,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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These raids are reckless and sow more chaos and division in our city.—
Anna Commander
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
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Two other Democrats, however, have denounced the strikes as a reckless escalation.—
Lila Hempel-Edgers,
Charlotte Observer,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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The tragedy in Ruidoso highlights growing concerns about increasingly intense weather systems striking communities with little time to prepare for sudden surges of water.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 July 2025
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In one particularly raw moment, a woman studying the photographs let out a sudden shriek.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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The swarm — hundreds of small earthquakes hitting the same area in quick succession — started around 1:30 a.m.—
Sarah Lynch Baldwin
July 9,
CBS News,
9 July 2025
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Chicago police and City Hall officials were quick to note that the shooting was targeted and the victims didn’t live in the neighborhood.—
Sam Charles,
Chicago Tribune,
9 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drive-by.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drive-by. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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