I. ˈdrīvə(r) noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English drivere, from driven to drive + -ere -er
1. : one that drives something: as
a. : one that drives cattle, sheep, or beasts of burden
b. : a person in actual physical control of a vehicle (as an automobile)
driver for the colonel
hundreds of drivers parked their cars by the shore
Sunday drivers
— compare operator
c. : one that dispels or expels
a pianist is my surest driver away of worry
a dedicated driver out of superstition
d. : a beater, drover, or other individual engaged in driving animals toward a destination
e. : one competent to carry projects to execution or completion
a driver of bargains
f. : one skilled or adept at driving an object in flight, into desired shape, or so as to penetrate
he proved the longest driver in the tournament
a driver of rivets
the steam driller was taking work from drivers
g. : an overseer of a gang of workers responsible for their working at a satisfactory pace ; broadly : a harsh and exacting taskmaster
h. : a workman who guides logs being floated down a stream
i. : the operator or tender of a machine that drives
a pile driver
j. : a member of a purse-seiner crew who goes out ahead in a small boat to determine the direction and size of schools of fish and helps to keep fish from escaping while the net is being set
k. : an individual with executive ability and the tense and rigorous disposition to spur others to maintain a high level of well-directed exertion — used often with an implication of pushing relentlessly and ruthlessly
almost invariably he is a tense or intense person, enthusiastic, conscientious, more or less of a perfectionist, a go-getter, a real driver — C.M.Jones
a great man is a leader of men, not a driver — S.McC.Crothers
every steel company needs at least one hard-boiled driver of men — Current Biography
2. : any of certain implements or tools used for driving: as
a. : mallet
b. : a tamping iron
c. : a hammer for driving on barrel hoops
d. : any of various sporting implements (as a bat, racket, or club) especially adapted for driving (as by shape) ; especially : a golf club with a wooden head and nearly straight face used in driving a ball from the tee — see wood illustration
e. : an electrical device (as an electron tube) that produces and sustains oscillations or pulses in a circuit
f. : the magnetic device that actuates a loudspeaker diaphragm to produce sound
3.
a. obsolete : a square sail set on a yard at the end of a spanker boom with the wind aft
b. : spanker 2
c. : the sixth mast on a many-masted schooner ; also : the lower sail set on this mast
4. : a piece for imparting motion to another piece either directly or indirectly: as
a. : the first of a train of wheels giving motion to the rest
b. : a locomotive driving wheel
c. : a dog in the faceplate of a lathe for driving a straight-tailed dog
d. : a crossbar on a grinding-mill spindle for driving the upper stone
5. : dowitcher
II. noun
: a piece of computer software that controls input and output operations