driver

UK: /ˈdraɪvə^r/ US: /ˈdraɪvɚ/ ,(drī′vər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

driv•er /ˈdraɪvɚ/   n. [countable]

1. a person or thing that drives.
2. a person who drives a vehicle.
3. a person who drives animals, such as a cowboy.
4. Sport a golf club with a wooden head.
5. Computing software that controls the connection between a computer and another device, such as a printer.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

driv•er  (drī′vər), n. 

1. a person or thing that drives.
2. a person who drives a vehicle;
   coachman, chauffeur, etc.
3. a person who drives an animal or animals, as a drover or cowboy.
4. Sport Also called number one wood. [Golf.] a club with a wooden head whose face has almost no slope, for hitting long, low drives from the tee.
5. [Mach.]
   • Mechanical Engineering a part that transmits force or motion.
   • Mechanical Engineering the member of a pair of connected pulleys, gears, etc., that is nearer to the power source.
6. Computing software or hardware that controls the interface between a computer and a peripheral device.
7. Rail Transport See driving wheel (def. 2).
8. Rail Transport, British Terms [Brit.] a locomotive engineer.
9. Sound Reproduction [Audio.]
   • the part of a loudspeaker that transforms the electrical signal into sound.
   • the entire loudspeaker.
10. [Naut.]
    • Naval Terms a jib-headed spanker sail.
    • Naval Terms a designation given to one of the masts abaft the mizzen on a sailing vessel having more than three masts, either the fifth or sixth from forward. Cf. pusher (def. 4), spanker (def. 1b).

• Middle English drivere. See drive, -er¹ 1350–1400

driv′er•less, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

driver / ˈdraɪvə/ noun

1. a person who drives a vehicle
2. in the driver's seat ⇒ in a position of control
3. a person who drives animals
4. a mechanical component that exerts a force on another to produce motion
5. a club, a No. 1 wood, with a large head and deep face for tee shots
6. a circuit whose output provides the input of another circuit
7. a computer program that controls a device
8. something that creates and fuels activity, or gives force or impetus

ˈdriverless adjective