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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Yet in spite of its rather hurried origins, it’s gone on to become a General Motors success story in the quarter-century since it was created.—
Will Sabel Courtney,
Robb Report,
17 June 2025
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And the hurried pace of the deportations has ignored due process, experts and advocates say.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA Today,
10 June 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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Written and directed by documentarian Brian Tetsuro Ivie (Emanuel) in his narrative directorial debut, the film tells the story of an impulsive young woman and a reclusive older man who launch on a poignant cross‑country road trip.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
26 June 2025
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Unfortunately, impulsive, inventory-optimization metric chasing often soothes symptoms while elevating strategic risk.—
Noah Barsky,
Forbes.com,
25 June 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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Given the sudden burst of interest, agentic AI risks becoming something that’s all too common in business: a topic that everyone is talking about, but that few people actually understand.—
Tomas Gorny,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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Her particular specialism is making sudden bursts towards the near post, staying in the defender’s blind spot before suddenly jumping ahead of her marker to turn home a simple chance, often laid on a plate at club level by Caroline Graham Hansen, with whom Pajor also worked well at Wolfsburg.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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There’s plenty of other great footage, too, including the November afternoon at Stockport County when Parkinson displayed much quicker thinking than his unusually off-key players during a 1-0 defeat.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
27 June 2025
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His shooting and passing have only continued to improve over the last five seasons. Mobility, shot creation need developing Kalkbrenner is not quick and can be exploited for by guards, forcing him to switch less on defense.—
Emma Moon,
Charlotte Observer,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drive-by.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drive-by. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
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