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

Spatz’s single drove in two to cut the deficit to 10-8. —Darren Sabedra, Mercury News, 15 May 2026

Boston got on the board in the sixth when Gasper's single drove in Carlos Narváez. —ABC News, 15 May 2026

By October, players will have abandoned this in droves. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 14 May 2026

At 3-0 down in a 3-2 defeat to Atalanta, supporters headed for the exits, leaving in droves. —James Horncastle, New York Times, 12 May 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"