drive off

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drive off

A security guard uses a flashlight to drive off a raccoon from the trash cans.

Definition

Verb: 1. To force someone or something to leave or retreat: To cause a person, animal, or thing to go away from a place, often by using force, threats, or other means. 2. To repel or dispel something abstract: To cause an unwanted feeling, thought, or condition to go away or cease.

Usage Examples
  • Verb:
    • The loud alarm and bright lights helped drive off the intruder. (The alarm and lights forced the intruder to leave.)
    • She tried to drive off the feeling of sadness by going for a run. (She tried to dispel the sad feeling by running.)
    • The farmer used a scarecrow to drive off the birds from his crops. (The farmer used a scarecrow to force the birds to leave his fields.)
Advanced Usage
  • "to drive off an attack": To successfully repel or defend against an assault.
    • The garrison managed to drive off the enemy attack.
  • "to drive off a challenge": To overcome a competitor or rival, causing them to withdraw.
    • The champion drove off all challengers to retain his title.
Variants and Related Words
  • Drive away: A phrasal verb with essentially the same meaning as "drive off."
    • Please drive away the stray dogs from the garden.
  • Repel: To force something to move back or away.
  • Dispel: To make a doubt, feeling, or belief disappear.
Synonyms
  • Repel
  • Chase away
  • Scare off
  • Dispel (for abstract concepts)
Related Phrasal Verbs
  • Drive out: To force someone or something to leave a place, often implying expulsion from an interior or enclosed space.
    • They were driven out of their homeland by war.
  • Drive back: To force someone or something to retreat or go back the way they came.
    • The firefighters drove back the flames.
Related Idioms
  • Drive someone to distraction: To annoy someone intensely. (Note: This idiom is related in form but has a different meaning, focusing on causing a state of mind rather than making someone leave.)
    • The constant noise drove me to distraction.
drive off

A security guard uses a flashlight to drive off a raccoon from the trash cans.

Verb
  1. force to go away; used both with concrete and metaphoric meanings
    • Drive away potential burglars
    • drive away bad thoughts
    • dispel doubts
    • The supermarket had to turn back many disappointed customers

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