Driveway

/ˈdraɪvweɪ/

nounBeginner📊CommonGeneral
1 meaning3 questions

Definitions

1

A private road that leads from a public road to a house or garage.

/ˈdraɪvweɪ/

nounneutralBeginner
General

A private road leading to a house or other building.

The car was parked in the driveway.

💡 Simply: Imagine you're driving to your friend's house. The driveway is the little road that leads from the big street to their house where you park. It's like a special path just for cars!

👶 For kids: A driveway is a little road that takes you to your house from the big road.

More Examples

2

We need to shovel the snow from the driveway.

3

The kids were playing basketball in the driveway.

4

The driveway leads to the garage.

How It's Used

Residential

"Many houses have a driveway for parking vehicles."

Construction

"The driveway was recently paved with asphalt."

From "drive" + "way," reflecting the path meant for driving vehicles. Its usage became more common with the rise of automobiles in the 20th century.

The term 'driveway' gained popularity in the early 20th century as car ownership increased and houses were designed with spaces for vehicles.

Memory tip

Think of it as the 'drive way' into your home from the public road.

Word Origin

LanguageEnglish
Original meaning

"From the verb "drive" (to operate a vehicle) and the noun "way" (a path)."

paved drivewaylong drivewaygravel drivewaycircular driveway

Common misspellings

drive waydrive-way

Usage

60%Spoken
40%Written