Do we go through a drive-thru or drive-through? That question is confusing enough to make anyone want to relax with a cheeseburger and some fries.
According to our primary American-English dictionaries (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Webster’s New World College Dictionary, and The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language), drive-through is the preferred spelling, while drive-thru is an accepted informal variant.1 However, the use of drive-thru has become so common that using drive-through now feels incorrect.
For example, which looks normal to you?
- I skipped breakfast, so I visited the drive-through on my way to work.
- I skipped breakfast, so I visited the drive-thru on my way to work.
For most of us, the second option appears correct because fast-food restaurants and other businesses with drive-up services generally use the informal spelling on their signage—now it just looks right.
The thru spelling also shows up frequently on street signs because fewer letters mean cheaper signs! Today, when I spot a street sign with the through spelling I think it looks odd, even though I know it is grammatically correct.
So, what should you do within your own business writing or other formal content? My suggestion is to always use drive-through except in reference to businesses that use drive-thru on their signs and when quoting street signs.
Further Reading: Which Dictionary Is Best for You?
References
1. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed. (2016), s.v. “drive-through”; Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. (2014), s.v. “drive-through”; Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 5th ed. (2016), s.v. “drive-through.”
2. The Associated Press Stylebook 2020–2022 (New York: Associated Press, 2020), 92.
What about in a college essay? I think it is probably better to use through rather than thru.
Thanks!
Hi, Liz. Thanks for reading my post. I agree that through is the better choice for a college essay.
Hello Erin,
I appreciate this info. As COVID-19 testing efforts moved to “drive-thru” services, it has been challenging to know which one to use, particularly when the audience for some of these testing sites are so diverse. Additionally, when translating “drive-through” into Spanish; there is no specific language equivalent. So, we end up using the English words or with a word picture “servicio al auto” (service to your vehicle)…
Thanks!
Hello, Edwin.
Thank you for visiting. I think “service to you vehicle” sounds much more welcoming than either drive-through or drive-thru! Stay safe!
~Erin
Drive-thru and Drive-through have always bothered me. You are not driving through anything, you are driving up to the window or up to the ATM. Do you think it would be correct in formal writing, such as a contract, to refer to the Drive-through window as Drive-up window?
Thank you for visiting my blog! I agree that drive-up window makes more sense than drive-through in most situations. Plus, the term drive-up appears in Merriam-Webster, so I don’t see why you couldn’t use it in formal writing.