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

Noun

• army
• bike [chiefly Scottish]
• cram
• crowd
• crush
• flock
• herd
• horde
• host
• legion
• mass
• mob
• multitude
• press
• rout
• scrum
• swarm
• throng

Examples of drove in a Sentence

Noun

people flocked to the annual festival in droves

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But with the job market healthy and not sending droves of Americans to the unemployment lines, the Fed can afford to take its time to properly assess what to do about stubborn inflation. —Paolo Confino, Fortune, 28 May 2024

Tara Duncan’s single to right drove in Luo for a 3-0 first-inning lead. —Kevin J. Farmer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2024

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

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"