Driving

How to spell driving

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce driving

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does driving mean?

1. nounThe act of controlling and operating a motor vehicle.
2. adjectiveActing with great force or as the main propelling influence.

Driving in a sentence

• noun

  He passed his driving test on the second attempt.

• adjective

  Ambition was the driving force behind the whole project.

• noun

  Long-distance driving leaves her exhausted by evening.

• adjective

  The hikers struggled against the driving rain all afternoon.

Where does driving come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows directly from the Old English verb drifan, which meant to push, urge, or force something forward, often used of herding animals or driving them along a road. That early Germanic root is shared with the Dutch drijven and the German treiben, all carrying the same sense of pushing something into motion. The -ing ending is the native English suffix that turns a verb into its present participle and gerund, so driving literally names the act of urging something forward. The spelling drops the final e of drive before adding -ing, which is the regular English rule and the small point where writers sometimes hesitate. The meaning narrowed over the centuries from driving cattle to driving carriages, and by the late nineteenth century it had settled firmly on operating a motor vehicle.

How the word is built

• drive (from Old English drifan: to push, urge forward)
• -ing (verbal/adjective suffix)