drive under the influence
idiom
US
: to drive while drunk
He was arrested for driving under the influence.
Examples of drive under the influence in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The team set out with a goal of leaving 20, $5 coffee gift cards on vehicle windshields – small tokens recognizing the choice not to drive under the influence.
—
Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2025
According to Tesla, three key reasons why FSD (Supervised) is safer than the average driver are that the system doesn’t drive under the influence, never gets tired, and doesn’t experience road rage.
—Charles Singh, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2025
What this legislation will do is increase education on the harm of drinking and drug driving, increase penalties for drivers under the influence and keep people who drive under the influence off the road.
—Duane O. King, Baltimore Sun, 10 June 2025
In fact, the average drunk driver will drive under the influence 80 times before their first arrest.
—Dallas News, 4 May 2022
Now experts are worried the coronavirus has made U.S. drivers more likely to speed, more likely to drive under the influence, more likely to drive without wearing seatbelts, and more likely to be reckless in general.
—Karen Kaplan Science and Medicine Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2021
Officers have been directed to no longer engage in traffic stops for low-level violations and to instead focus on poor drivers -- those who speed and drive under the influence, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a press conference Monday.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 23 June 2021
Most people who drive under the influence get home safely.
—Star Tribune, 3 Aug. 2020
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Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2025
According to Tesla, three key reasons why FSD (Supervised) is safer than the average driver are that the system doesn’t drive under the influence, never gets tired, and doesn’t experience road rage.
—Charles Singh, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2025
What this legislation will do is increase education on the harm of drinking and drug driving, increase penalties for drivers under the influence and keep people who drive under the influence off the road.
—Duane O. King, Baltimore Sun, 10 June 2025
In fact, the average drunk driver will drive under the influence 80 times before their first arrest.
—Dallas News, 4 May 2022
Now experts are worried the coronavirus has made U.S. drivers more likely to speed, more likely to drive under the influence, more likely to drive without wearing seatbelts, and more likely to be reckless in general.
—Karen Kaplan Science and Medicine Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2021
Officers have been directed to no longer engage in traffic stops for low-level violations and to instead focus on poor drivers -- those who speed and drive under the influence, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a press conference Monday.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 23 June 2021
Most people who drive under the influence get home safely.
—Star Tribune, 3 Aug. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Drive under the influence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drive%20under%20the%20influence. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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