1 A2 neutral
To arrive at a place in a vehicle.
"A black limousine drove up to the entrance of the hotel."
inseparable
drive up
B1 neutral separable transitive/intransitive
To arrive at a place in a vehicle, or to cause prices, costs, or figures to increase.
In plain English
Arrive somewhere by car, or make prices or numbers go higher.
What does "drive up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
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."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To travel upward by vehicle or to arrive at a place by driving.
Actually means
Arrive somewhere by car, or make prices or numbers go higher.
Usage tip
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.
Words that pair with "drive up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
prices costs demand inflation house prices car
How to conjugate "drive up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
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
Hear "drive up" in the wild
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Other ways to say "drive up"
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