1
: carried out from a moving vehicle
a drive-by shooting
2
: done or made in a quick or cursory manner
Synonyms
Examples of drive-by in a Sentence
Adjective
the administrator's schedule left her with no time to make more than a drive-by assessment of the situation
Recent Examples on the Web
Sabrina Bodon, Sacramento Bee, 30 May 2024
In September 1996, Shakur died in a drive-by shooting at age 25 in Las Vegas.
—Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 30 May 2024
Three people were injured in a drive-by shooting during a birthday party in St. Paul Sunday night, the third shooting in less than 24 hours at gatherings in St. Paul and North St. Paul.
—Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 28 May 2024
Earlier this week, a string of pellet-gun drive-by shootings outside gay bars in Hillcrest hit multiple people, including a security guard who was shot in the eye, requiring surgery.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2024
Five suspects were arrested in a drive-by shooting on May 1 that injured six people in the Las Vegas Trail neighborhood of west Fort Worth, police said in a news release Thursday.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 May 2024
Unsettling video shows a 9-year-old child in Texas dodging bullets as a drive-by shooting happens right outside his apartment.
—Andrea Vacchiano, Fox News, 16 May 2024
Tupac, who is widely recognized as one of the greatest and most charismatic rappers of all time, was murdered back in 1996, in a drive-by shooting on the streets of Las Vegas.
—Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 14 May 2024
The family of a 9-year-old who ducked bullets coming through the wall of their west Fort Worth apartment during a drive-by shooting earlier this month is asking for help relocating.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2024
Mara Severin | Eating Out, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Mar. 2023
According to The Columbian, at the time of his arrest Sunday, Warren was out on bail after being charged with drive-by shooting, assault and felony harassment; he is accused of firing a gun at Melendez's apartment earlier this month.
—Tristan Balagtas, Peoplemag, 23 Mar. 2023
He was charged with drive-by shooting, second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, gross misdemeanor harassment with bodily injury and two counts of fourth-degree assault.
—Savannaheadens, oregonlive, 23 Mar. 2023
Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials on Tuesday announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the drive-by killing of the father of former NBA player Richard Jefferson 4½ years ago.
—Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2023
One of three suspects charged in the fatal drive-by shooting of a Huntsville toddler five years ago was convicted Wednesday of capital murder.
—Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 22 Mar. 2023
With the highway running through it, Atoka already has more drive-by traffic than those towns.
—Priya Krishna, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2023
The pair usually do a drive-by perusal of the blossoms but decided to make a day of it this year.
—Marvin Joseph, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2023
Three weeks later, he was arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting near a Tacoma, Wash., shopping mall.
—The Indianapolis Star, 17 Mar. 2023
Adjective
Following the deadly 2011 drive-by shootings of two Sikh grandfathers on their daily walk, Singh-Allen sought a seat on the Elk Grove Unified School District board of trustees.
—Sabrina Bodon, Sacramento Bee, 30 May 2024
In September 1996, Shakur died in a drive-by shooting at age 25 in Las Vegas.
—Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 30 May 2024
Three people were injured in a drive-by shooting during a birthday party in St. Paul Sunday night, the third shooting in less than 24 hours at gatherings in St. Paul and North St. Paul.
—Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 28 May 2024
Earlier this week, a string of pellet-gun drive-by shootings outside gay bars in Hillcrest hit multiple people, including a security guard who was shot in the eye, requiring surgery.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2024
Five suspects were arrested in a drive-by shooting on May 1 that injured six people in the Las Vegas Trail neighborhood of west Fort Worth, police said in a news release Thursday.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 May 2024
Unsettling video shows a 9-year-old child in Texas dodging bullets as a drive-by shooting happens right outside his apartment.
—Andrea Vacchiano, Fox News, 16 May 2024
Tupac, who is widely recognized as one of the greatest and most charismatic rappers of all time, was murdered back in 1996, in a drive-by shooting on the streets of Las Vegas.
—Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 14 May 2024
The family of a 9-year-old who ducked bullets coming through the wall of their west Fort Worth apartment during a drive-by shooting earlier this month is asking for help relocating.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2024
Noun
There’s a confidence to running your restaurant in a neighborhood that doesn’t rely on tourists, window shoppers or drive-by traffic.
—Mara Severin | Eating Out, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Mar. 2023
According to The Columbian, at the time of his arrest Sunday, Warren was out on bail after being charged with drive-by shooting, assault and felony harassment; he is accused of firing a gun at Melendez's apartment earlier this month.
—Tristan Balagtas, Peoplemag, 23 Mar. 2023
He was charged with drive-by shooting, second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, gross misdemeanor harassment with bodily injury and two counts of fourth-degree assault.
—Savannaheadens, oregonlive, 23 Mar. 2023
Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials on Tuesday announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the drive-by killing of the father of former NBA player Richard Jefferson 4½ years ago.
—Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2023
One of three suspects charged in the fatal drive-by shooting of a Huntsville toddler five years ago was convicted Wednesday of capital murder.
—Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 22 Mar. 2023
With the highway running through it, Atoka already has more drive-by traffic than those towns.
—Priya Krishna, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2023
The pair usually do a drive-by perusal of the blossoms but decided to make a day of it this year.
—Marvin Joseph, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2023
Three weeks later, he was arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting near a Tacoma, Wash., shopping mall.
—The Indianapolis Star, 17 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drive-by.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near drive-by
Cite this Entry
“Drive-by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drive-by. Accessed 3 Jun. 2024.
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