drive
1 using a car or other vehicle
2 controlling a vehicle
3 driving on the road
4 problems when driving
5 driving regulations
see also CAR, BUS, LORRY, MOTORCYCLE, TRAVEL, ROAD
1 using a car or other vehicle
- to control a car or other vehicle: drive* (sth)
I want to learn to drive. ◎ to drive a lorry/bus/taxi
- to go somewhere in a car: drive*; a journey in a car or other vehicle: drive
They're planning to drive to Cardiff. ◎ The supermarket is only a five-minute drive from our house. ◎ Let's go for a drive this afternoon.
- a person who is driving a car or other vehicle: driver; a person who drives a car: motorist
- a person whose work is to drive a car or other vehicle: driver, chauffeur
She's employed as a driver by a car delivery firm. ◎ a lorry driver
※ passengers
- a person who travels in a car or other vehicle but does not drive it: passenger
Passengers should remain seated while the coach is moving.
- to take sb somewhere in a car: drive* sb to a place
- to take sb in your car to a place where they want to go: give* sb a lift
Can you give me a lift to the station?
- to collect sb in a car, etc: pick sb up
I'll pick you up outside the station at three o'clock.
- to stop a car, etc and let sb get out: drop sb off
You can drop me off at the corner.
- to wait at the side of a road and try to get a car to stop and take you somewhere: hitchhike, thumb a lift; sb who does this: hitchhiker
※ what a vehicle needs
- fuel for motor vehicles: petrol (AmE gas, gasoline, nouns U); petrol that does not contain lead is unleaded
- a heavy oil that is used in lorries, buses and some cars: diesel (noun U)
- a machine that provides petrol or diesel: petrol pump
- a liquid that makes car engines work smoothly: oil (noun U)
- a liquid that stops the water in a car radiator from freezing in cold weather: antifreeze (noun U)
- a machine that provides air to put in tyres: air pump, air line
- a place, usually at a petrol station, where your car is washed automatically: car wash
- a place where you can buy petrol and other things for your car: petrol station, service station (AmE gas station)
- a place where you get petrol, etc on a motorway: (motorway) service area
- a place where your car can be repaired: garage
- a person whose job is to serve you at a petrol station: (petrol pump) attendant
- to put fuel in a car, etc: fill up, put* in some petrol
- the measure of the amount of petrol that a car uses: miles per gallon (abbreviation mpg)
※ more on fuel FUEL
2 controlling a vehicle
- to make the engine of a vehicle start working: start a car, lorry, etc, turn/switch on the ignition
- to stop the engine: turn/switch off the ignition
- to control the direction in which a vehicle is going: steer (sth)
I'm still not very good at steering.
- to signal that your car is going to turn: indicate
to indicate right/left
- to sound the horn of a vehicle: hoot (the horn)
Why did he hoot at me? I wasn't doing anything wrong.
※ brakes
- the part of a vehicle that slows it down or stops it: brake (often plural)
the footbrake (= operated by your foot)
the handbrake (= operated by your hand)
- the pedal that you push with your foot to make the footbrake work: brake pedal
- to prevent a vehicle from moving by using the handbrake: put* on the handbrake; opposite: release the handbrake
- to make a vehicle go slower or stop by using the footbrake: brake, put* the brake(s) on, put* your foot on the brake
Why did you brake so suddenly? ◎ She put her foot on the brake and managed to stop in time.
※ changing gear
- a set of wheels in an engine which pass power from one part of the engine to another: gears (noun plural)
- to change from one gear to another while you are driving: change gear (AmE shift gear)
- to change gear, you need to press the clutch (pedal) with your foot and move the gear lever, gear stick (AmE shift stick) with your hand
- to put the engine into a higher/lower gear as you get faster or slower: change up/down
- to choose the gear which makes the vehicle go backwards: change into reverse, put* sth into reverse
- when the gears are being used, the engine is in gear; when the gears are not being used, the engine is in neutral (noun U)
3 driving on the road
- all the cars, lorries, buses, etc that are using the roads in a place: traffic (noun U)
light/heavy traffic ◎ The traffic was moving very slowly.
- a sign which tells drivers where to go, what to do, what not to do, etc: road sign, traffic sign
- a sign with two or three coloured lights used for controlling traffic at road junctions: (traffic) lights (noun plural) (AmE stoplight)
The lights were red so we had to stop.
※ more on roads and road signs ROAD
- the way that you decide to follow to get from one place to another: route, way
Which route did you take? ◎ Which way shall we go?
- a map which shows all the roads in one area: road map
※ starting and stopping
- to drive a car, etc away from somewhere: drive* off/away, move off
He released the handbrake and we moved off.
- to move away from the side of the road: pull out
I had to brake suddenly as a car pulled out in front of me.
- to drive a car, etc off the road: pull off the road
They pulled off the motorway at a service station.
- to stop at a place: pull up (at sth), draw* up (at sth)
Can you pull up at the next corner? I want to get out. ◎ A car drew up and three men got out.
※ parking
- to stop and leave a car, lorry, etc somewhere for some time: park (sth); the action of doing this: parking (noun U)
Where shall we park? ◎ We can take the car if you want but parking may be a problem.
- an area or building where you can leave your car: car park (AmE parking lot)
a multi-storey car park (= a car park that has several levels)
- a metal post that you put coins in to pay for parking in the space beside it: parking meter
- a person whose job is to check if cars are parked in the wrong place: (BrE) traffic warden
- a piece of paper showing that you must pay a fine (= some money) for parking in the wrong place or for too long: parking ticket
※ turning
- to leave one road and go onto another: turn off (sth)
We turned off the A9 and headed for Aberdeen.
- to move onto a different road: turn onto sth, turn down sth
We left the motorway and turned onto the road to Banbury. ◎ Could you turn down this road here?
- to make a mistake when changing from one road to another: take* a wrong turning
- to turn the vehicle so as to go back where you came from: turn round
I think we've lost our way. We'll have to turn round.
- to turn round and go back along the same road: do*/make* a U-turn
- to move a car backwards: reverse (sth), back (sth) (into sth)
He reversed the car out of the drive. ◎ Can you back the car into this space?
- to change direction suddenly: swerve
She had to swerve to avoid the dog.
※ passing
- to pass a vehicle because you are moving faster: overtake* (sth), pull ahead (of sb/sth)
- to allow another vehicle to go before you: give* way (to sb/sth)
You must give way to traffic coming from the right.
- cars, etc that are coming towards you: oncoming traffic
※ driving fast or slow
- the measure of a car's speed: mph (miles per hour), km/h (kilometres per hour)
a 50 km/h speed limit
- to travel at a certain speed: go* at ※¦, do* ※¦
I think I was going at about 50 mph at the time. ◎ He must have been doing over a hundred!
- to make a car go more slowly: slow down, brake
We slowed down as we came to a junction. ◎ I braked too hard and the car skidded.
- to make a car go faster: speed up, accelerate
You'll have to speed up a bit or we'll be late.
- to drive very fast: speed*
We sped through the town.
- to make a car go very fast by pressing down on the accelerator pedal: put* your foot down
- at the fastest possible speed: at full speed, at top speed
He drove at top speed all the way.
- to drive very slowly because there is a lot of traffic: crawl
Traffic was crawling through the town centre because of the roadworks.
※ dangerous driving
- if you drive without thinking about how dangerously you are driving, you are being careless, reckless
guilty of careless driving ◎ a reckless driver
- to drive quickly across a set of traffic lights when they are red: (informal) jump the lights (AmE run* a red light)
4 problems when driving
- an unpleasant event that happens when you are driving: accident
They're very late. I hope they haven't had an accident.
- to hit sb with a car: run* sb over, knock sb down
I was nearly run over by a bus.
- an accident when a car, etc hits sth and is damaged: crash
- if you put on the brake too hard, the vehicle may get out of control and skid
The car skidded into a tree.
※ more on crashes and other accidents ACCIDENT
- when a car stops suddenly because the engine fails, it stalls; when sb causes this to happen, they stall sth
I jammed on the brakes and the engine stalled. ◎ I stalled the engine when I was waiting at the junction.
- if a car stops working when it is being driven, it breaks* down
- to pull a car along by using a chain or a rope: tow sth; a car that is being towed is on tow
- when a tyre gets a hole in it and the air comes out, you have a puncture (AmE flat)
※ more on punctures WHEEL
- a long line of cars, etc that cannot move or that can only move slowly: (traffic) jam
Sorry I'm so late home, I got stuck in a traffic jam.
- if the roads are full of cars, etc which are moving slowly, there is (traffic) congestion (noun U)
a scheme to reduce traffic congestion
- to be unable to find your way to a place: get* lost, lose* your way
We got lost and had to stop and ask the way.
- illness caused by travelling in a car: carsickness (noun U), travel-sickness (AmE motion sickness)(noun U); adjectives: carsick, travel-sick
I used to get carsick when I was little.
5 driving regulations
- an official piece of paper that says you are allowed to drive a car: driving licence (AmE driver's license)
- an examination to measure your driving skill and knowledge of the rules of driving: driving test
Mick's so happy; he's just passed his driving test.
- an organization which teaches people to drive: driving school
- a sign with a large red letter L on it that you fix to a car, etc when you are learning to drive: (BrE) L-plate
- a round, official piece of paper that you put on your vehicle's windscreen to show that you have paid the necessary tax: tax disc
- the book of rules that say how you should drive on public roads: highway code
- the right to continue moving while other cars, etc must stop: right of way (noun U), priority (noun U)
Keep going. You have right of way here. ◎ Who has priority on a roundabout?
- the highest speed at which you are allowed to drive on a particular piece of road: speed limit
I didn't think I was exceeding the speed limit.
- driving faster than you are allowed to: speeding (noun U)
The police stopped the woman for speeding.
- when you should not drive because you have drunk more than the legal amount of alcohol, you are over the limit
You mustn't drive - you're well over the limit.
- driving when you have drunk too much alcohol: drink-driving (noun U)
- a person who drives after drinking too much: drink-driver
- a test given by the police to check the amount of alcohol in sb's body: breath test; the machine they use to do this: breathalyser; to use a breathalyser: breathalyse sb
Did the police breathalyse you?
- if a judge decides that you should not be allowed to continue driving because you have broken the law, you lose* your licence, you are banned from driving
Simon was banned from driving for a year after he was found guilty of drink-driving.
|
|
