1
: carried out from a moving vehicle
a drive-by shooting
2
: done or made in a quick or cursory manner
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
Alexis Stevens, AJC.com, 10 Jan. 2026
Mahmoud Haqiqat, commander of the police station in Iranshahr, Iran, was assassinated in a drive-by shooting, who recorded the event and posted it online.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 8 Jan. 2026
Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
Armed with surveillance photos of the man driving the moped during Wednesday’s drive-by shooting, cops continued the manhunt Friday.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for drive-by
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
One woman was killed and a second was injured in a drive-by shooting Friday night at a funeral home, according to East Point police.
—Alexis Stevens, AJC.com, 10 Jan. 2026
Mahmoud Haqiqat, commander of the police station in Iranshahr, Iran, was assassinated in a drive-by shooting, who recorded the event and posted it online.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 8 Jan. 2026
Noun
But Willy Nast was never able to put the story of that drive-by shooting far from his mind.
—Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
Armed with surveillance photos of the man driving the moped during Wednesday’s drive-by shooting, cops continued the manhunt Friday.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for drive-by
Cite this Entry
“Drive-by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drive-by. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
