drive // verb, noun

■ verb [+ obj] (drove /; AmE / driven //)

1 (often be driven)

to cause sth; to be the main influence on sth:

Our products are driven by customers' needs.

Consumer spending has been the driving force behind the economy.

She seems to know what drives people to want to excel at their job.

⇨ -DRIVEN (1)

2 drive sth (forward)

to make sth grow stronger, develop or progress:

Exports have helped to drive economic growth.

Profits rose 38 per cent, driven by strong sales in Asia.

His investments put him in a good position to drive forward the merger of the two firms.

Senior management needs to drive the process of organizational change.

We plan to drive the business to profitability by the end of the year.

3 (used with an adverb or a preposition)

to force a price, figure, etc. to go up or down or move to a particular level:

The conflict is driving oil prices higher.

Management is under pressure to drive down costs.

The economy is being driven deeper into recession.

The government has succeeded in driving inflation to a 30-year low.

The price of energy has been driven below the point at which it can be produced economically.

4

to force sb to act in a particular way:

Fears about unemployment drove consumers to cut back on spending.

You're driving yourself too hard (= you're making yourself work too much).

Advertising has helped to drive customers to our website.

IDIOMS

be in the driving seat (also be in the driver's seat)

to be the person in control of a situation:

The workshop will put you firmly in the driving seat of change in your company.

Shareholders are going to be in the driving seat to ensure directors' pay meets company performance targets.

GROUND noun, GROUND noun, HARD adj.

PHRASAL VERBS

drive sb/sth out (of sth)

to make sb/sth disappear or stop doing sth:

The supermarkets are driving small shopkeepers out of business.

New fashions drive out old ones.

■ noun [C]

DISK DRIVE, ECONOMY DRIVE, FLASH DRIVE, HARD DRIVE, SALES DRIVE, TAPE DRIVE, TEST DRIVE

1

an organized effort by a group of people to achieve sth:

They cut their staff by 400 in a drive to reduce costs.

a drive for greater efficiency

a cost-cutting/marketing/recruitment drive

2 (IT )

the part of a computer that reads and stores information on disks or tapes:

a CD-ROM drive

a DVD drive

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