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Glite Dictionary
to drive off

to drive off

87 4.0
Force someone or something to leave using threats
  • phrasal verb
  • /draɪv ɔf/
translation icon : ahuyentar
  • She tried to drive off the stray dog by waving her arms fiercely.
  • drive off the land

The Union soldiers drive the Confederates off.

Examples

  • Don't you know every time you drive off, we're terrified?

    Bones and All (2022)

  • Then he muttered, "Jesus Christ!" Rolling up his window, he drove off without looking back.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Come on man, are you seriously gonna let her drive off in your own truck with another man?

    Craving (2023)

  • At this point they drove off, leaving poor Jim to go back home on his own.

  • That guy just drove off, I bet we'll never hear from him again.

    Outlier (2021)

  • And a moment later, he drove off, and that chapter in his life was over.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • They put your father into a car and drove off.

    Confess, Fletch (2022)

  • So we drove off to Pasadena the only doctor that was open at that time of night.

    Bisping (2021)

  • They just threw her in the back seat of the car and then drove off.

    Cross (2011)

  • Then the two of them drove off, drunk as coots, to spend their wedding night at Nell Nolan's.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

to drive away
vsto drive off
71 3.4

To force a person, animal, or feeling to go away

uses force or threats rather than mainly causing discomfort
to drive out
vsto drive off
70 3.8

Force someone or something to leave a place

focuses on forcing exit often by direct action or deterrent
to dispel
vsto drive off
29 4.6

To make a feeling or idea go away

uses threats or actions to remove persons or things physically or figuratively
to chase away
vsto drive off
26 2.6

To make people or things leave by scaring them

is broader not always sudden or involving pursuit
to run off
vsto drive off
25 4.7

Make someone or something go away

is the same meaning but as an alternative phrase
to drive back
vsto drive off
19 4.1

Force someone or something to move away from danger

targets retreat from attacks not general removal
to chase off
vsto drive off
6 3.3

Make someone or something leave a place by running after and frightening them

is about using threats or deterrents rather than pursuit

Antonyms

to welcome
583 1.0

Greet someone in a friendly way when they arrive

to invite
93 4.4

To make someone want to come closer or start a conversation

How Forceful

to banish
107 6.3
to expel
194 5.0
to send someone packing
  • Informal
4 7.9
to drive off
87 4.0
to push away
37 2.0

Surface Forms

drive off infinitive
driving off present participle
drives off third person singular
drove off past
driven off past participle

Morphology

drive + off

The meaning 'to force someone or something to leave' is directly and compositionally derived from 'drive' (to force or propel) + 'off' (away from a place). This motion/expulsion pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows a standard verb + particle construction, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reliably infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Drive off comes from the image of a farmer or shepherd using a stick or voice to drive animals off a field so they move away. That's why it means 'to force someone or something to leave'.