Synonyms

driving force

Idioms

The impetus, power, or energy behind something in motion, as in He was clearly the driving force in the new administration. This term transfers the force that sets in motion an engine or vehicle to other enterprises. Ralph Waldo Emerson was among the first to use it figuratively (English Traits, 1856): “The ability of its journals is the driving force.”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A central theme around the rapid pace of AI advancements is that it could be a driving force for growth.

From MarketWatch

He was also the driving force behind Wu Wear, the group’s wildly popular fashion line that netted tens of millions in revenue and became a fixture of ’90s hip-hop iconography.

From Los Angeles Times

"She is the driving force behind everything that we do and everything that I do, and we will be relentless," he said.

From BBC

The new findings point to magma rising from depth as the driving force behind the swarm.

From Science Daily

Hardenberg has for years been a driving force in trying to draw significant foreign investment to Greenland.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023