drive up
B1 neutral separable both
In simple words
Arrive somewhere by car, or make prices or numbers go higher.
Literal meaning: To travel upward by vehicle or to arrive at a place by driving.
Meanings
1 A2 neutral
To arrive at a place in a vehicle.
"A black limousine drove up to the entrance of the hotel."
Grammar: inseparable
2 B1
idiomatic
neutral
To cause prices, costs, or other figures to increase, usually through sustained economic pressure.
"High demand from foreign buyers is driving up property prices across the capital."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
The figurative sense of causing prices to rise is very frequent in business, economics, and journalism. The literal sense of arriving in a vehicle is also common and fully transparent.
Commonly used with
prices costs demand inflation house prices car
Forms
Base
drive up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
drives up
he/she/it
Past simple
drove up
yesterday
Past participle
driven up
have + pp
-ing form
driving up
continuous
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Synonyms
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