driving

1. 1
   operating vehiclesnoununcountable

   The action of operating a motor vehicle, such as a car, truck, or bus.

   Years of city driving had made him a patient and cautious motorist.

   The state toughened its penalties for drunk driving last year.

   UsageFor one trip, say a drive: a long drive home. Driving names the activity: city driving, drunk driving.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of drive, the -ing form used as part of the verb, as in 'was driving' or 'keeps driving'.

   The workers spent the morning driving wooden stakes into the frozen ground.

   He kept driving long after midnight to reach home.

   Note

   The -ing form does two jobs here. After be or keep it is a participle (she was driving home, he kept driving); as a subject or object it is a gerund naming the activity (driving was difficult). The two have different roots: the participle goes back to Old English drīfende, while the gerund shares the -ing of the noun of the action, which as a full noun can even take a plural, drivings. Source

   Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • The participial and gerund endings have different historical origins; the gerund ending originated in a noun-forming suffix. en.wikipedia.org
   • The participle driving descends from Old English drīfende. en.wiktionary.org
   • The action noun has the plural drivings. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   force behindadjective

   Supplying the force or power that makes a mechanism or process operate.

   Engineers replaced the worn driving belt that powered the conveyor.

   Curiosity was the driving impulse behind her research.

   UsageMost often in driving force, with behind for what it powers: the driving force behind the change.

   Similarmotivating

4. 4
   forcefuladjective

   Moving with great force; strong and forceful, as wind or rain in a storm.

   The hikers were soaked within minutes by the driving rain.

   A driving gale tore branches from the old oak.

   UsageMostly with weather words: driving rain, driving snow, a driving wind.

   Similarpelting, torrential

   Oppositegentle, light

5. 5
   noununcountable

   The carrying out of the action expressed by the verb 'drive', in any of its senses.

   The driving of the herd to market began before sunrise.

   The driving of the stakes for the new fence was the hardest part of the job, since the ground was full of rock.

   UsageUsually the driving of + what is driven: the driving of the stakes. A plural, drivings, also occurs.

   Note

   Cobbett's Political Register in 1825 writes of "drivings of cattle" alongside tithe battles. There a driving was the seizure of a farmer's cattle for unpaid tithes or rent. The plural with of names what was driven, and each seizure is counted as a separate incident.

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