driver's license
179
1.7
- noun
- /ˈdraɪvərz ˈlaɪsəns/
- US
:
licencia de conducir
- Austin is a 16-year-old student in 10th grade and has his driver's license.
- get a driver's license
- obtain a driver's license
- require a driver's license
Examples
-
There were other things in the envelope, too: bus tickets, a driver's license, Social Security cards.
Fiction book (1999) -
I once had my driver's license suspended.
-
Okay, I need a driver's license and a credit card.
-
Street, you have a driver's license?
-
His mother did not have a car or a driver's license.
Academic text (2013) -
Let's see your driver's license.
-
In most states, it is much harder to get a driver's license than a marriage license.
Academic text (1996) -
When Eddie first got his driver's license, he cut a deal with his dad.
Fiction book (1996) -
Each state has the responsibility for determining whether an individual should receive a driver's license.
Academic text (2004) -
May I see your driver's license before you start the test?
Synonyms
5
1.5
An official document that lets a person drive a car on public roads
Antonyms
How Official
Surface Forms
Morphology
driver's + license
The phrase is compositionally built: 'driver's' (possessive of driver) modifies 'license' (official authorization), so the meaning—an authorization for a driver to operate a vehicle—is directly derivable from the parts. This possessive noun + license pattern is common cross-linguistically (e.g., permiso de conducir, permis de conduire), making it readily understandable to learners who know the constituents.
Etymology
Driver's license comes from two simple words: a driver is someone who drives and a license is a paper that shows permission. Because this paper showed a person was 'allowed to drive a car', the phrase now means an official document that lets someone drive.