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Glite Dictionary
drive-thru

drive-thru

23 2.5
A place, like a restaurant or bank, where you buy things without leaving your car
  • noun
  • /ˈdraɪvˌθru/
  • US
translation icon : ventanilla de autoservicio
  • There is seemingly a McDonald's drive-through on nearly every corner around the globe.
  • drive-thru window
  • drive-thru lane
  • drive-thru bank

Examples

  • I remember going through the drive-thru a few days after my return from Cambodia.

    Blog text (22)

  • I ordered my coffee at the drive-thru without getting out of the car.

  • Sure, I saw her at the drive-thru a couple of days ago.

    15 Till Midnight (2010)

  • There was a time when the drive-through was the only way to go for me!

    Blog text (12)

  • Plus, if I leave now, I can still get my drive-through.

    End of the World (2018)

  • Go over there and handle that situation at the drive-through.

    Night School (2018)

  • You guys gonna have to order from the drive-thru menu.

    Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

  • Say, you pull through the drive-through and you order a burger, right?

    White Boy Rick (2018)

  • You're pressed for time, so you hit the drive-thru on the way to work.

    Blog text (7)

  • The McBeths are celebrating the opening of their new drive-thru window, complete with media coverage.

    Fiction book (2002)

Synonyms

drive-in
vsdrive-thru
39 3.7

Place where people stay in their cars to eat or watch a movie

is focused on serving people while they move through without leaving their car

How In-Person

in-person
15 2.7
drive-in
39 3.7
curbside
  • US
3 3.5
drive-thru
  • US
23 2.5
online
  • Texting
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

drive-thru singular
drive-thrus plural
drive thrus plural
drive thru singular

Morphology

drive-thru = drive (transparent) = thru + drive

The meaning 'service while driving without leaving the car' follows directly from 'drive' + 'through' (spelled 'thru' in informal signage), so the compound is straightforward for learners. [Postprocessing: moved 'thru' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Drive-thru comes from the parts drive and thru, where drive means 'to drive a car' and thru is an informal spelling of 'through' meaning 'going through'. So a drive-thru is a place where you are served while still in your car, because you simply drive 'through' to the window or counter.