driveableadj.
/ˈdrʌɪvəbl/, U.S. /ˈdraɪvəb(ə)l/ 1. Capable of being driven or suitable for driving (in various senses of drive v.).
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the world > movement > impelling or driving > [adjective] > capable of being impelled
driveable1690
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > [adjective] > that may be driven (of distance)
driveable1690
1690 tr. G. Buchanan Hist. Scotl. xiii. 11 Richard Fox..had taken care that the Cattle, and all other driveable and portable things should be conveyed unto places, either safe by Nature, or made so by the vicinity of Moors & Rivers.
1834 New Sporting Mag. Sept. 323/1 There we entered a comparatively driveable road, only requiring care to steer clear of stumps.
1854 H. D. Thoreau Walden 49 Straight, and drivable nails.
1891 J. C. Atkinson Forty Years Moorland Parish 359 When the snow began to be drivable.
1993 Sunday Tasmanian (Nexis) 3 Oct. The potholes patched over again and again to provide a driveable surface.
2020 Times of India (Nexis) 26 Oct. More people are opting for short getaways with road trips and visiting destinations that are at a drivable distance.
2. spec.
a. Of a vehicle: able or fit to be driven; safe to drive. Later also: easy, pleasurable, or economical to drive (cf. driveability n.).
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1899 Hereford Times 18 Mar. i. 8/5 Bad as the road is, I have driven most vehicles that are drivable from Staunton to Kinnersley, and very seldom is Little London road under water.
1951 Dixon (Illinois) Evening Tel. 26 Nov. 2/2 (advt.) Those are just three of the great performance ‘exclusives’ in America's most driveable new car!
1960 Life 4 July 98 (advt.) But if your car is still driveable, you may want to take advantage of our Drive-In Claim Service.
2000 Ralph 7 July 141/1 Minimal roll, massive grip and near-perfect steering precision are all there, yet it's still so driveable.
b. Golf. Designating a hole, typically one with a par score of four, on which it is possible to reach the green from the tee using a driver (cf. one-shotter n. 1); designating the green of a hole of this type.
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1924 Daily Mail (Hull) 16 July (Final City ed.) 2/4 Many of the holes of 250 and 260 yards could be described as drivable.
1970 Daily Tel. 13 July 22/2 A three there might just have done the trick for him and, with the last green just about driveable, it was on for a man inspired.
2014 Today's Golfer Feb. 106/2 Cruden has all the beauties of links golf, including blind shots, driveable par 4s, monster par 3s, breathtaking elevated tees and treacherous burns.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1690