drive-in

1. USnot comparableOf an establishment, providing service to patrons who remain in their automobiles and partake while parked.

   drive-in church; drive-in funeral parlor

2. Philippinesnot comparableA motel; a motor inn.

plural drive-ins

1. AustraliaCanadaUSAn 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.

   At the end of June 1997, there were 325 cinema sites and 28 drive-in sites in Australia.

   2000, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2000 Year Book Australia, page 346

   2 more examples

   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.

   1975, David Manning White, Popular Culture, page 154

   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, Mary Alampi, Dun & Bradstreet/Gale Group Industry Handbook, page 26

   Synonyms: drive-in cinema, drive-in movie, drive-in theatre

2. CanadaUSA restaurant where patrons remain in their vehicles to consume their meals; the meal may be ordered and delivered to one's vehicle by a carhop waiter; or may require patrons to use a service counter. The cars in the parking lot serve as the patrons' dining room, there being a lack of dining rooms and tables.

   1965 May 7, Don Moser, The nightmare of life with Billy, LIFE, page 101,

   1 more example

   The teenagers went down to the drive-in to order some hamburgers and fries.

   Synonyms: drive-in restaurant

3. CanadaUSA drive-through restaurant where patrons remain in their vehicles and order food and beverages via a speaker phone; the meal is delivered by a service window accessible by car.

   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.

   2006, Reid Duffy, Reid Duffy's Guide to Indiana's Favorite Restaurants: With a Recipe Sampler, page 135

   1 more example

   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.

   1986, Business Week, numbers 2967-2978, page 136