drove

1 of 2

noun

ˈdrōv 

1

: a group of animals driven or moving in a body

2

: a large number : crowd

—usually used in plural especially with in

came in droves

drove

2 of 2

past tense of drive

Synonyms of drove

Noun

• flock
• swarm
• throng
• crowd
• horde

Examples of drove in a Sentence

Noun

people flocked to the annual festival in droves

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

People sold art and other handmade products, nonprofits talked about their causes, and community organizations showed up to the festival in droves. —Sophia Buonpane, Kansas City Star, 20 June 2026

Michael Massey's single drove home Caglianone. —ABC News, 19 June 2026

On Thursday, New York City fans came out in droves to celebrate the New York Knicks' first NBA championship win since 1973. —Npr Staff, NPR, 18 June 2026

People flocked to their TVs, bars and watch parties in droves to catch the Knicks topple Goliath. —Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 17 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English drāf, from drīfan to drive — more at drive

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing drove

• drove him to an early grave

Rhymes for drove

• cove
• rove
• shrove
• stove
• strove
• throve
• trove
• wove
• alcove
• mangrove

Kids Definition

drove

1 of 2 noun

ˈdrōv 

1

: a group of animals driven or moving in a body

2

: a crowd of people moving or acting together

drove

2 of 2

past of drive

Etymology

Noun

Old English drāf "group of animals moving together," from drīfan "to drive"