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

Video from The Associated Press showed protesters gathering together to push over the tall yellow barricades and sometimes climbing atop them as droves of Delhi Police stood guard in riot gear. — Connor Greene, Time, 22 July 2026

Rising demand for power, land, construction, and industrial equipment are all facing price inflation for the same reason that the railroad build-out drove input prices up. — Nili Gilbert, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026

Chase DeLauter's base hit to right drove in Kwan, Brayan Rocchio scored on a wild pitch and DeLauter scored on Kahlil Watson's single to right. — ABC News, 18 July 2026

Lashlee took plenty of heat for this in the comments section, as droves of JMU fans flooded On3 reporter Brett McMurphy's post with taunts and jeers. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 July 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"