drive vs ply

drive

verb
  • To urge, press, or bring to a point or state. 

  • To provide an impetus for motion or other physical change, to move an object by means of the provision of force thereto. 

  • To cause intrinsic motivation through the application or demonstration of force: to impel or urge onward thusly, to compel to move on, to coerce, intimidate or threaten. 

  • To cause (a mechanism) to operate. 

  • To hit the ball with a drive. 

  • To travel by operating a wheeled motorized vehicle. 

  • To motivate; to provide an incentive for. 

  • To convey (a person, etc.) in a wheeled motorized vehicle. 

  • To be moved or propelled forcefully (especially of a ship). 

  • To dig horizontally; to cut a horizontal gallery or tunnel. 

  • To separate the lighter (feathers or down) from the heavier, by exposing them to a current of air. 

  • To move forcefully. 

  • To clear, by forcing away what is contained. 

  • To operate (a wheeled motorized vehicle). 

  • To move (something) by hitting it with great force. 

  • To carry or to keep in motion; to conduct; to prosecute. 

  • To operate (an aircraft). 

  • To direct a vehicle powered by a horse, ox or similar animal. 

  • To provide an impetus for a non-physical change, especially a change in one's state of mind. 

  • To cause animals to flee out of. 

  • To displace either physically or non-physically, through the application of force. 

  • (especially of animals) To impel or urge onward by force; to push forward; to compel to move on. 

  • To cause to become. 

  • To compel (to do something). 

  • To put together a drive (n.): to string together offensive plays and advance the ball down the field. 

  • To be the dominant party in a sex act. 

noun
  • Planned, usually long-lasting, effort to achieve something; ability coupled with ambition, determination, and motivation. 

  • A sustained advance in the face of the enemy to take a strategic objective. 

  • An impression or matrix formed by a punch drift. 

  • Desire or interest. 

  • A stroke made with a driver. 

  • An apparatus for reading and writing data to or from a mass storage device such as a disk. 

  • An offensive possession, generally one consisting of several plays and/ or first downs, often leading to a scoring opportunity. 

  • An act of driving (prompting) livestock animals forward, to transport a herd. 

  • A driveway. 

  • A campaign aimed at selling more of a certain product, e.g. by offering a discount. 

  • A collection of objects that are driven; a mass of logs to be floated down a river. 

  • Violent or rapid motion; a rushing onward or away; especially, a forced or hurried dispatch of business. 

  • A trip made in a vehicle (now generally in a motor vehicle). 

  • A mass storage device in which the mechanism for reading and writing data is integrated with the mechanism for storing data. 

  • A straight level shot or pass. 

  • An act of driving (prompting) game animals forward, to be captured or hunted. 

  • A type of shot played by swinging the bat in a vertical arc, through the line of the ball, and hitting it along the ground, normally between cover and midwicket. 

  • A mechanism used to power or give motion to a vehicle or other machine or machine part. 

  • A charity event such as a fundraiser, bake sale, or toy drive. 

  • A type of public roadway. 

  • A ball struck in a flat trajectory. 

ply

verb
  • To press upon; to urge persistently. 

  • To work at (something) diligently. 

  • To persist in offering something to, especially for the purpose of inducement or persuasion. 

  • To travel over (a route) regularly. 

  • To bend, to flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield (to a force, etc.). 

  • To wield or use (a tool, a weapon, etc.) steadily or vigorously. 

noun
  • In two-player sequential games, a "half-turn" or a move made by one of the players. 

  • A layer of material. 

  • A bent; a direction. 

  • A strand that, twisted together with other strands, makes up rope or yarn. 

  • A condition, a state. 

How often have the words drive and ply occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )