DRIVER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does driver mean? 

• DRIVER (noun)
  The noun DRIVER has 5 senses:

1. the operator of a motor vehicle

2. someone who drives animals that pull a vehicle

3. a golfer who hits the golf ball with a driver

4. (computer science) a program that determines how a computer will communicate with a peripheral device

5. a golf club (a wood) with a near vertical face that is used for hitting long shots from the tee

  Familiarity information: DRIVER used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DRIVER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The operator of a motor vehicle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("driver" is a kind of...):

manipulator; operator (an agent that operates some apparatus or machine)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "driver"):

chauffeur (a man paid to drive a privately owned car)

test driver (a driver who drives a motor vehicle to evaluate its performance)

teamster; truck driver; trucker (someone who drives a truck as an occupation)

cabby; cabdriver; cabman; hack-driver; hack driver; livery driver; taxidriver; taximan (someone who drives a taxi for a living)

tailgater (a driver who follows too closely behind another motor vehicle)

speed demon; speeder (a driver who exceeds the safe speed limit)

road hog; roadhog (a driver who obstructs others)

automobile driver; race driver; racer (someone who drives racing cars at high speeds)

owner-driver (a motorist who owns the car that he/she drives)

automobilist; motorist (someone who drives (or travels in) an automobile)

kerb crawler (someone who drives slowly along the curb seeking sex from prostitutes or other women)

honker (a driver who causes his car's horn to make a loud honking sound)

designated driver (the member of a party who is designated to refrain from alcohol and so is sober when it is time to drive home)

bus driver; busman (someone who drives a bus)

Antonym:

nondriver (a person who is not a driver)

Derivation:

drive (operate or control a vehicle)

drive (cause someone or something to move by driving)

drive (work as a driver)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Someone who drives animals that pull a vehicle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("driver" is a kind of...):

worker (a person who works at a specific occupation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "driver"):

charioteer (the driver of a chariot)

coachman (a man who drives a coach (or carriage))

lasher (a driver who urges the animals on with lashes of a whip)

mahout (the driver and keeper of an elephant)

teamster (the driver of a team of horses doing hauling)

waggoner; wagoner (the driver of a wagon)

Derivation:

drive (push, propel, or press with force)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A golfer who hits the golf ball with a driver

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("driver" is a kind of...):

golf player; golfer; linksman (someone who plays the game of golf)

Derivation:

drive (strike with a driver, as in teeing off)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(computer science) a program that determines how a computer will communicate with a peripheral device

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

device driver; driver

Hypernyms ("driver" is a kind of...):

service program; utility; utility program ((computer science) a program designed for general support of the processes of a computer)

Domain category:

computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)

Derivation:

drive (cause to function by supplying the force or power for or by controlling)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A golf club (a wood) with a near vertical face that is used for hitting long shots from the tee

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

driver; number one wood

Hypernyms ("driver" is a kind of...):

wood (a golf club with a long shaft used to hit long shots; originally made with a wooden head)

Derivation:

drive (strike with a driver, as in teeing off)

 Context examples 

Our driver pulled up at a house which was not unlike the one which we had just quitted.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Mush on, poor sore feets,” the driver encouraged them as they tottered down the main street of Skaguay.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

"We know that many life experiences also contribute to risk of depression, but identifying the genetic factors opens new doors for research into the biological drivers."

(Forty-Four Genomic Variants Linked to Major Depression, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Sometimes the hills were so steep that, despite our driver's haste, the horses could only go slowly.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Sir Eustace Brackenstall, the driver tells me.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Creating fertilizer is energy intensive, and the process produces greenhouse gases that are a major driver of climate change.

(Bacteria Used to Create Fertilizer Out of Thin Air, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

“Quick, Watson, quick! Here is a screw-driver!” he shouted as the coffin was replaced upon the table.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I put my pistol to the head of the wagon-driver, who was this very man McCarthy.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Scientists have recognized the need to design electric vehicle batteries capable of charging extremely fast in order to meet the needs of drivers.

(Modern Battery Design Can Charge Electric Car in 10 Minutes, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The team discovered that a group of microbes called Psychrobacter appears to be the prime driver of the cycle.

(Bacteria living near coral reefs change in synchrony across distances, National Science Foundation)