ˈpower-drive, n.
[f. power n.1 + drive n.]
1. (Equipment for) the driving of machinery by mechanical or electrical power. Also fig.
| 1952 B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. (1958) xvii. 203 Lionel Hampton..added..a power-drive on vibes and drums all his own. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 15 Mar. (Suppl.) 13 The rugged, reliable AEI ‘Stayrite’ Single⁓phase power-drive has been specifically developed for arduous farming applications. 1971 P. J. McMahon Aircraft Propulsion iii. 78 The normal transmission efficiency of a power drive is expressed as the ratio of power output to power input. |
2. The impulse to exercise power.
| 1954 R. F. C. Hull tr. Jung's Pract. of Psychotherapy in Coll. Wks. XVI. i. 19 The first corresponds to Freud's pleasure principle, the second to Adler's power-drive, the desire to be on top. 1964 Gould & Kolb Dict. Social Sci. 483/1 Some modern definitions stress the fact of the power drive of parties. 1969 J. Mander Static Society vi. 180 The power-drive implied in this process is an ugly thing. 1979 J. Sherwood Hour of Hyenas ii. 23 You are very striking-looking, but..my power drive is far stronger nowadays than my sex drive. |