drive-in

drive in(to)

1. To enter a particular place or thing while driving. Turn left and then drive into the parking garage.
2. To hit someone or something while driving. That guy fell asleep at the wheel and drove into a crowd of people at the parade. I lost control of my car and drove into a row of shopping carts.
3. To force something into another material or substance by hitting it. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "drive" and "in" or "into." To drive this nail into the wall, you really need to put some muscle behind it.
4. In baseball, to hit the ball and cause a runner (or runners) to score. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "drive" and "in." And with that triple, Green drove in two runs.
See also: drive

drive-in

1. noun An outdoor movie theater in which people sit in their cars in front of a large screen. This phrase can also be used as an adjective to describe such a theater. I wish there were more drive-ins around here—watching a movie in your car with your family can be a lot of fun.
2. noun A restaurant where food (usually fast food) is served to patrons while they sit in their cars. Let's go get a burger at the drive-in.
3. adjective Describing the part of a business designed to serve customers seated in their cars. Here's the order for the guy who's waiting at the drive-in window.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

drive in (to something)

to enter something or some place by driving. She drove right into the garage and stopped the car before she realized that she was not at her own house. She drove in and looked around.
See also: drive
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • drive in
  • drive in(to)
  • drive into
  • what (one) is driving at
  • what somebody is driving at
  • what someone is driving at
  • at the wheel
  • at/behind the wheel
  • all over hell's half acre
  • caution about
References in periodicals archive
31 and -- though he had hoped to stay in business -- the drive-in would not open for the "2019 season and beyond," thus joining so many other American drive-ins on what Gire called "the slow road to extinction."
Fading to black Cascade's closing a sad ending for West Chicago drive-in
Sonic offers franchisees flexibility with multiple drive-in formats as it relates to weather, location and traffic.
Sonic heading north to Alaska
While the first drive-in theatre opened in 1933, growth remained largely static in the years that followed.
DRIVE-IN THEATRES, TECHNOLOGY, AND CULTURAL CHANGE
Although there is no singular formula to ensure a drive-in theater's success, Mr.
Drive-ins hit reset button for 21st-century fun; It's a hit: Fresh energy plus nostalgia
"The Family is King!" proclaimed a 1958 phone book ad for the Eugene Drive-In.
Last Picture Show
* The Cascade Drive-In, 1100 North Ave., West Chicago
Sun setting on drive-ins? Remaining few nearby drive-ins aided by nostalgia, low prices
System same-store sales for the quarter declined 1.7%, consisting of a 1.6% same-store sales decrease at franchise drive-ins and a 3.2% decrease at company drive-ins.
Sonic's diluted EPS up by 4% in Q1 2018
Studying drive-in theatres and other liminal practices can serve to re-focus attention on to the interstices of film history.
DOUBLE FEATURES AND EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING CHOICES BY DRIVE-IN MOVIE THEATRES
Drive-in movie theater operators say more than 200 of the remaining 348 drive-ins in the country have made the expensive conversion from film to digital, which typically costs more than $70,000.
Drive-ins switch to digital; Expensive conversion from film takes creativity
In 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in the U.S.
Drive-ins still have gas
Here's a help-wanted sign you don't see every day: Sonic Drive-in on Broadway in Little Rock is seeking four skating carhops.
Sonic carhops go skating. (Whispers)
franchisee Rodney Warren was presented the drive-in restaurant chain's Troy Smith Hall of Fame award at the Oklahoma City-based company's annual convention in Washington, D.C.
Warren receives Troy Smith award
Sonic Corp (Nasdaq:SONC), an operator of a large chain of drive-in restaurants, on Wednesday reported net income of USD13.1m, or USD0.28 per diluted share for the first quarter of fiscal 2017, ended 30 November 2016.
Sonic's diluted EPS up by 17% in Q1 fiscal 2017