DRIVES Synonyms: 344 Similar and Opposite Words

drives 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of drive

as in runs

to urge, push, or force onward cowboys drove the herd of cattle from San Antonio to San Francisco

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Relevance

as in motors

to travel by a motorized vehicle I'm going to drive across the country—want to come?

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as in pushes

to apply force to (someone or something) so that it moves in front of one drove the plunger into the opening

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as in compels

to cause (a person) to give in to pressure the corrupt governor was driven out of office

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in activates

to cause to function machinery driven by waterpower

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as in moves

to set or keep in motion this motor drives the gears, which then turn the shaft

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as in speeds

to proceed or move quickly the runner drove past the finish line and then came to a dead stop

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drives

2 of 2

noun

plural of drive

as in highways

a passage cleared for public vehicular travel raced our motorcycles along the drive

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as in campaigns

a series of activities undertaken to achieve a goal a fund-raising drive for the school's marching band

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of drives

Verb

The ability for employees to find the best opportunities for themselves and for employers to find the best candidates for the job help to drive innovation, which drives productivity, which drives growth, Richardson has said. — Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026 Oscar drives her home and, paralyzed by the situation, leaves her unconscious at her family’s door. — Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026 Vendors will often find their strongest ambassadors among their internal developer team because their hard work and innovation drives the product. — Kevin Cochrane, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Petrenko drives the musicians to never stop trying to perfect sound. — ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026 But now, Beewise hives are equipped with Robi, a wheeled unit that drives up to the hives and uses robotic arms to reach inside to treat the bees, just as a human beekeeper would. — Rachel Sacks, Time, 15 Oct. 2026 Again, unlike in the classic, Sanchez and the skilled cast gift us with a powerhouse life force flowing almost from the opening scene that drives through the evening. — Bill Hirschman, Sun Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2026 New seeker drives precision At the heart of PAC-3 Edge sits an advanced seeker developed at Lockheed Martin’s Strigo Product Center. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2026 Waymo’s new autonomous vehicle, called the Ojai, drives in Venice Beach, California, on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. — Henry Payne, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026

Noun

Saturday’s demonstrations will be different, focusing instead on voter-participation drives. — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026 This was the first game since at least 2000 with four touchdown drives that started inside the opponent’s 25 with all four coming after takeaways. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 Miami put together two long touchdown drives to pull away in their 41-13 road win over the Tigers. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2026 The students continue to take part in monthly prayer and service projects, including food drives for a west-side pantry. — Darius Johnson, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026 Electric drives handle the remaining two rotational joints in its forearms. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026 After an eight-play, 71-yard jaunt by the Rams tied the game at 27 with seven minutes and 14 seconds to go, the teams traded especially textbook scoring drives. — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026 Individuals can visit the Volunteer page to offer financial assistance, participate in upcoming donation drives and more. — Jim Masters, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026 His drives, transition finishes and willingness to pull up gave the second unit another source of offense. — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 13 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drives

Verb

Serhii Sternenko, who runs a foundation supplying drones to Ukrainian forces and previously served as an adviser to Ukraine's defense minister, also reported the Starlink speed limits and later said the speeds were being limited even further.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
Abell Diño-Cabrera, who heads Fire & Ice Media and runs the division’s film and TV development, production, positioning and sales work, will steer the alliance for the Philippine side.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of runs

Verb

Here, Hendrikx plays anthropologist to a culture that compels each of us—whether a rider or not—to find our own vehicle for fulfillment, then take it to redline.

— Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 30 Sep. 2026
However, the necessity of operating without a financial safety net compels one to internalize these lessons.

— Shreyans Lodha, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of compels

Verb

The agency rejected the recommendation, saying that using cameras that automatically activate when an officer pulls their weapon or activates a car siren could risk privacy concerns.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
And a few are very highly specific, such as the protease that activates insulin, which only cuts near a very specific series of amino acids.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of activates

Verb

Such plaudits raise the question of how Movistar Plus moves forward from here.

— John Hopewell, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
The mountains east to Hickory could see an average 3 or 4 inches of rain before the system moves from the region by Sunday afternoon, NWS meteorologist Chris Horne told The Charlotte Observer.

— Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of moves

Verb

For health care CFOs, the challenge is distinguishing between an AI tool that speeds up billing and one that helps patients get the right care in the right setting—potentially changing the economics of care itself.

— Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
This speeds customs and ensures a smoother cross-border delivery experience.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of speeds

Noun

The two highways are major entry points to the center of Kansas City and downtown.

— Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2026
For residents like Smith, the idea of transforming space above one of Atlanta's busiest highways offers a glimpse of what downtown could become.

— Jamal Goss, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026