vairuoti

Vairuoti is a Lithuanian verb meaning to drive or operate a motor vehicle. It denotes the act of controlling the vehicle’s steering, acceleration, and braking, typically by a person who is behind the wheel. The term covers driving cars, trucks, motorcycles and other motorized vehicles.

Grammatically, vairuoti is the infinitive form of a transitive verb. It is commonly used with a direct object, as in vairuoti automobilį (to drive a car) or vairuoti sunkvežimį (to drive a truck). It can also appear without an object in constructions like moka vairuoti (knows how to drive). Present tense forms are: aš vairuoju, tu vairuoji, jis/ji vairuoja, mes vairuojame, jūs vairuojate, jie/jos vairuoja.

In usage, vairuoti is often contrasted with važiuoti. Vairuoti emphasizes the act of operating the vehicle, while važiuoti focuses more on movement or traveling by vehicle. For example, Aš vairuoju automobilį means I am driving the car, whereas aš važiuoju automobiliu can mean I am going by car.

Etymology and related terms: vairuoti is derived from vairas, meaning steering or reins, reflecting control over a vehicle. A person who drives is called vairuotojas, and the act of driving is commonly discussed in the context of driving licenses (vairuotojo pažymėjimas) and road traffic rules.