drive in(to)
1. To enter a particular place or thing while driving. Turn left and then drive into the parking garage. No, drive in right here—the attendant is showing you which space to use. Your dad's home, I just heard him drive into the garage.
2. To hit someone or something while driving. That guy fell asleep at the wheel and drove into a crowd of people at the parade. I lost control of my car and drove into a row of shopping carts. Have you watched the news lately? An appalling number of people are driving into buildings these days!
3. To force something into another material or substance by hitting it. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "drive" and "in" or "into." To drive this nail into the wall, you really need to put some muscle behind it. The ground must still be frozen if you can't drive your shovel in at all. If you're looking to drive into concrete, then you definitely need a power tool.
4. In baseball, to hit the ball and cause a runner (or runners) to score. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "drive" and "in." And with that triple, Green drove in two runs. I did not expect a two-out bunt to drive in the winning run, but here we are! Marlins win! At least it was a productive out—Brown hit it deep enough to drive in a run.
drive-in
1. noun An outdoor movie theater in which people sit in their cars in front of a large screen. This phrase can also be used as an adjective to describe such a theater. I wish there were more drive-ins around here—watching a movie in your car with your family can be a lot of fun. It's a shame that my parents grew up getting their movie fix at the drive-in, and my kids don't even know what a drive-in is. You know where he took me on our first date? The drive-in movie.
2. noun A restaurant where food (usually fast food) is served to patrons while they sit in their cars. Let's go get a burger at the drive-in. Let's just go to the drive-in tonight—I'm too tired to cook dinner. I've never been to a drive-in before. You really just wait in your car and they bring your order to you?
3. adjective Describing the part of a business designed to serve customers seated in their cars. Here's the order for the guy who's waiting at the drive-in window. Hey, can you guys make those orders any faster? The drive-in area is getting pretty crowded. No, this is the drive-thru lane. If you want to be served in your car and eat here, the drive-in parking spots are over there.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.