variants
or less commonly drive-thru
: a drive-through establishment (such as a restaurant or bank)
also
: the drive-through window at such an establishment
Examples of drive-through in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2024
The first 50 drive-through customers on Saturday will receive a free medium beverage.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2024
Chicken nuggets from the drive-through on the way home from the mountains.
—Krista Diamond, Longreads, 30 May 2024
Late nights with his parents at the McDonald's drive-through were common as a kid, Gaw said, because his parents were often exhausted after long hours at work.
—Juliana Kim, NPR, 29 May 2024
The event will be drive-through, so no walk-ups will be allowed.
—Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 24 May 2024
At the corner of York and Cranbrook roads in Cockeysville, there are three popular drive-through windows, including one at Dunkin’ Donuts and another at Popeyes.
—Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 8 May 2024
The restaurant is adding a drive-through window, Jeremy Lowe said.
—Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 May 2024
Those businesses are now looking to AI to run drive-through orders or walk-up self-service kiosks to reduce the financial effect of California’s new $20 minimum wage for restaurant workers in certain establishments.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2024
Elaine Rewolinski, Journal Sentinel, 24 Mar. 2023
McDonald’s is, in essence, sponsoring the ultimate drive-through, as 200-mph race cars weave through downtown Chicago.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2023
Campuses became resourceful in trying to commemorate students’ achievements while remaining mindful of public health — organizing drive-through ceremonies, or moving the festivities entirely online.
—Debbie Truong, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2023
These days, McClure lives even closer to this drive-through destination for burgers, dogs, shakes and a brief respite from the industrial life of East Frederick.
—Tim Carman, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2023
North Richland Hills has a new PJ’s Coffee with a drive-through.
—Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas News, 17 Mar. 2023
The website also has printable posters that businesses can hang at their drive-through windows or place at tables to explain the ban to customers and employees.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2023
Today, nearly 40 percent of all restaurant traffic is in the drive-through lane, while visits to physical restaurants were 22 percent lower in February 2023 than in 2020, according to Placer.ai.
—Caitlin Gilbert, Lindsey Bever, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Mar. 2023
Those include seniors-only hours, drive-through pantries, and expanded home delivery services.
—Lauren Lee, CNN, 3 Mar. 2023
Adjective
Those who have huge influence outside Southern California but wouldn’t even be recognized at the In-N-Out drive-through?
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2024
The first 50 drive-through customers on Saturday will receive a free medium beverage.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2024
Chicken nuggets from the drive-through on the way home from the mountains.
—Krista Diamond, Longreads, 30 May 2024
Late nights with his parents at the McDonald's drive-through were common as a kid, Gaw said, because his parents were often exhausted after long hours at work.
—Juliana Kim, NPR, 29 May 2024
The event will be drive-through, so no walk-ups will be allowed.
—Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 24 May 2024
At the corner of York and Cranbrook roads in Cockeysville, there are three popular drive-through windows, including one at Dunkin’ Donuts and another at Popeyes.
—Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 8 May 2024
The restaurant is adding a drive-through window, Jeremy Lowe said.
—Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 May 2024
Those businesses are now looking to AI to run drive-through orders or walk-up self-service kiosks to reduce the financial effect of California’s new $20 minimum wage for restaurant workers in certain establishments.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2024
Noun
The Easter ham dinner can also be ordered at the drive-through window from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for $25, cash only, with no pre-order necessary.
—Elaine Rewolinski, Journal Sentinel, 24 Mar. 2023
McDonald’s is, in essence, sponsoring the ultimate drive-through, as 200-mph race cars weave through downtown Chicago.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2023
Campuses became resourceful in trying to commemorate students’ achievements while remaining mindful of public health — organizing drive-through ceremonies, or moving the festivities entirely online.
—Debbie Truong, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2023
These days, McClure lives even closer to this drive-through destination for burgers, dogs, shakes and a brief respite from the industrial life of East Frederick.
—Tim Carman, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2023
North Richland Hills has a new PJ’s Coffee with a drive-through.
—Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas News, 17 Mar. 2023
The website also has printable posters that businesses can hang at their drive-through windows or place at tables to explain the ban to customers and employees.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2023
Today, nearly 40 percent of all restaurant traffic is in the drive-through lane, while visits to physical restaurants were 22 percent lower in February 2023 than in 2020, according to Placer.ai.
—Caitlin Gilbert, Lindsey Bever, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Mar. 2023
Those include seniors-only hours, drive-through pantries, and expanded home delivery services.
—Lauren Lee, CNN, 3 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drive-through.' 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-through
Cite this Entry
“Drive-through.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drive-through. Accessed 6 Jun. 2024.
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