Word.ws English Dictionary

let drive

let drive verb: to aim a blow; to strike with force; to attack; to shoot (an arrow or firearm).

Verb

let drive (third-person singular simple present lets drive, present participle letting drive, simple past and past participle let drive)

  1. (idiomatic, obsolete) To aim a blow; to strike with force; to attack; to shoot (an arrow or firearm).
    • Four rogues in buckram let drive at me—c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
    • […] if ever love had any cause to revenge the wrongs which are done unto him, it is against them they ought to let drive all the arrows of his justice, and make them exemplary unto all such as abuse the name of Lovers.1658, Honoré d’Urfé, translated by John Davies, Astrea, Part 3, Book I, p. 213
  2. (obsolete) To allow (a vessel) to be propelled by the wind, current or tide.
    • And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 27:15
    • The Nabob sent Lacandas to informe me, that these supplyes were not for warre, but fild full of combustible matter to fire, and so to be let driue with the tyde vpon our ships in the night […]1625, Nicholas Downton, “Extracts of the Journall of Captaine NICHOLAS DOWNTON” in Samuel Purchas, Purchas His Pilgrimes, London: Henry Fetherstone, Book 4, Chapter 11, Section 3, p.

Examples of let drive in a sentence

  • While he was drinking, one of our men snatcht up his Gun, and let drive at him, and kill’d his Horse1687, William Dampier, chapter 9, in A New Voyage Round the World, volume I, London: James Knapton, page 253:
  • Without any ceremony the near man let drive at my throat with one of those beastly wavy daggers they go in for.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards...
  • Finding that they left us we consulted which way to steer, and resolved to let drive before the Wind.1683, chapter 17, in John Morrison, transl., The Perillous and Most Unhappy Voyages of John Struys, London: Samuel Smith, page 207:
  • […] he ordered our Boats to be heaved overboard and let drive with the Wind.1768, Henry Brooke, chapter 13, in The Fool of Quality, volume 3, Dublin: for the author, page 169:

Forms of let drive

third-person singular presentlets drive
present participleletting drive
past participlelet drive
pastlet drive

Questions about let drive

What does let drive mean?
Let drive means to aim a blow; to strike with force; to attack; to shoot (an arrow or firearm).
How do you use let drive in a sentence?
While he was drinking, one of our men snatcht up his Gun, and let drive at him, and kill’d his Horse
What part of speech is let drive?
Let drive is a verb.
What is the past tense of let drive?
The past tense of let drive is let drive.

Words near let drive in the dictionary

  1. let be
  2. let blood
  3. let bygones be bygones
  4. let crazy stick its dick in you
  5. let down
  6. let drive
  7. let fluffy off the chain
  8. let fly
  9. let George do it
  10. let go
  11. let go and let God

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: let drive (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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