English
drive-in
Adjective

drive-in (not comparable)

  1. (US, of an establishment) Providing service to patrons who remain in their automobiles.
    drive-in bank; drive-in church; drive-in funeral parlor
Synonyms Noun

drive-in (plural drive-ins)

  1. (US, Australia) An outdoor cinema where movies are projected onto a large screen and patrons watch from inside their vehicles, listening either by a speaker or a designated radio frequency.
    • 1975, David Manning White, Popular Culture, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=PZ6lgRl6VAwC&pg=PA154&dq=%22drive-in%22|%22drive-ins%22+-intitle:%22drive%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HfpFT7ubDeOimQXP-6ycDg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22drive-in%22|%22drive-ins%22%20-intitle%3A%22drive%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 154],
      Owners and sponsors of the drive-ins feel that in three-quarters of their patrons they have tapped a practically prehistoric strain of human—the hitherto non-movie-goer.
    • 2000, Mary Alampi, Dun & Bradstreet/Gale Group Industry Handbook, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=NC0nX9644DoC&q=%22drive-in%22|%22drive-ins%22+-intitle:%22drive%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22drive-in%22|%22drive-ins%22+-intitle:%22drive%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dxNGT7yRPI_EmQXMqpGiDg&redir_esc=y page 26],
      This fact may seem surprising since the major movie studios, reluctant to risk cheapening their images by releasing first-run films to drive-ins, made only older movies affordable to drive-in operators.
    • 2000, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2000 Year Book Australia, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=hlJ0QRd_bwcC&pg=PA346&dq=%22drive-in%22|%22drive-ins%22+australia+-intitle:%22drive%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1RVGT9awCsGYiAKV87HaDQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22drive-in%22|%22drive-ins%22%20australia%20-intitle%3A%22drive%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 346],
      At the end of June 1997, there were 325 cinema sites and 28 drive-in sites in Australia.
  2. (US) A drive-through restaurant where patrons remain in their vehicles and order food and beverages via a speaker phone; the meal is delivered to one's vehicle by a carhop.
    The teenagers went down to the drive-in to order some hamburgers and fries.
    • 1965 May 7, Don Moser, The nightmare of life with Billy, LIFE, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=TVMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA101&dq=%22drive-in%22|%22drive-ins%22+-intitle:%22drive%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GANGT7LjB8_1mAWI1qWxDg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22drive-in%22|%22drive-ins%22%20-intitle%3A%22drive%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 101],
      At the retarded children′s school, the youngsters occasionally got hamburgers for lunch from a drive-in chain. […] he cruised the city looking for drive-ins where he wasn′t known.
    • 1986, Business Week, Issues 2967-2978, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=ufUdAQAAMAAJ&q=%22drive-in%22|%22drive-ins%22+-intitle:%22drive%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22drive-in%22|%22drive-ins%22+-intitle:%22drive%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GANGT7LjB8_1mAWI1qWxDg&redir_esc=y page 136],
      Even before franchising genius Ray A. Kroc approached Mac and Dick McDonald to become the licensing agent for their small San Bernardino (Calif.) restaurant, scores of drive-in operators had begun copying McDonald′s speedy burger-fries-and-shake menus. Love contends that Kroc′s success came largely from his commitment to automating the preparation of drive-in meals.
    • 2006, Reid Duffy, Reid Duffy's Guide to Indiana's Favorite Restaurants: With a Recipe Sampler, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=ufLPEMdaHogC&pg=PA135&dq=%22drive-in%22|%22drive-ins%22+-intitle:%22drive%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Dg5GT-TMNsfKmQWem9muDg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22drive-in%22|%22drive-ins%22%20-intitle%3A%22drive%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 135],
      For during the fabled Indiana blizzard of ′78, Tom found himself trapped inside the kitchen of the drive-in for three days before his family, and—more to the point—his customers, could reach him.
Synonyms
  • (outdoor cinema) drive-in cinema, drive-in movie, drive-in theater/drive-in theatre
  • (drive-through restaurant) drive-in restaurant, drive-through
Translations

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