1
as in throngs
a great number of persons or creatures massed together
people flocked to the annual festival in droves
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Recent Examples of droves
Eclipse chasers will travel to the path in droves, keen to witness a relatively short but ultimately dramatic totality.
—
Jamie Carter, Space.com, 13 June 2026
The mosquitoes came out in droves at night, just before bed, quelling our ambitions of stargazing or watching for the northern lights.
—John Bowe, Travel + Leisure, 11 June 2026
The trip, though, has underscored how the country of 50 million people, which experienced a religious crisis after its 20th-century dictatorship ended, still has plenty of faithful Catholics who have turned out in droves to welcome the American pope.
—ABC News, 10 June 2026
The trip, though, has underscored how the country of 50 million people, which experienced a religious crisis after its 20th century dictatorship ended, still has plenty of faithful Catholics who have turned out in droves to welcome the American pope.
—Joseph Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026
And with roughly an hour to go until tipoff, there are still droves of fans outside waiting to get into the arena.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 9 June 2026
The British royal family turned out in droves Saturday for the intimate nuptials of Harriet Sperling and Peter Phillips.
—Stephanie Bridger-Linning, Vanity Fair, 6 June 2026
Fans obliged in droves, popping off their shirts and bringing a building that had stagnated into stressed silence back to the top of its register.
—Sean Gentille, New York Times, 5 June 2026
Yet there Knicks fans were, in droves, cheering their team on in their first NBA Finals appearance in a quarter-century.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026
Jamie Carter, Space.com, 13 June 2026
The mosquitoes came out in droves at night, just before bed, quelling our ambitions of stargazing or watching for the northern lights.
—John Bowe, Travel + Leisure, 11 June 2026
The trip, though, has underscored how the country of 50 million people, which experienced a religious crisis after its 20th-century dictatorship ended, still has plenty of faithful Catholics who have turned out in droves to welcome the American pope.
—ABC News, 10 June 2026
The trip, though, has underscored how the country of 50 million people, which experienced a religious crisis after its 20th century dictatorship ended, still has plenty of faithful Catholics who have turned out in droves to welcome the American pope.
—Joseph Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026
And with roughly an hour to go until tipoff, there are still droves of fans outside waiting to get into the arena.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 9 June 2026
The British royal family turned out in droves Saturday for the intimate nuptials of Harriet Sperling and Peter Phillips.
—Stephanie Bridger-Linning, Vanity Fair, 6 June 2026
Fans obliged in droves, popping off their shirts and bringing a building that had stagnated into stressed silence back to the top of its register.
—Sean Gentille, New York Times, 5 June 2026
Yet there Knicks fans were, in droves, cheering their team on in their first NBA Finals appearance in a quarter-century.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for droves
Noun
-
Friday’s watch party attracted throngs of revelers to MSG, but also brought some chaos to Midtown, with 26 people arrested for a variety of offenses, from assault to selling counterfeit merchandise to climbing on top of light poles, food vendor carts and subway entrances.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
7 June 2026
-
All the while, Upper West Side locals walked their little white dogs and hauled Fairway groceries past the throngs, looking confused.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Brands including Cult Gaia, Alo, Same Swim, and La DoubleJ are opening stores in either the South of France or along the Italian coastline ahead of the 2026 season, in a bid to capture the flocks of tourists who visit these hotspots and are keen to splurge without breaking the bank.—
Madeleine Schulz,
Vogue,
8 June 2026
-
The historic resort town of Zakopane anchors the Polish side, while Slovakia’s High Tatras deliver mountain lakes, waterfalls and flocks of sheep among rocky crests.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
With the front line barely moving as swarms of drones hinder advances, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range strikes.—
Pan Pylas,
Los Angeles Times,
7 June 2026
-
With the front line barely moving as swarms of drones hinder advances, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range strikes.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
Noun
-
According to reporting from the New York Times, the England National Team is known to draw hordes of fans and journalists during the tournament.—
Taylor O'Connor,
Kansas City Star,
9 June 2026
-
Popular destinations like Nantucket and the villages of the Hamptons draw hordes of visitors in summer, making restaurants hard to get into and lines for ice cream stretch down the block.—
Kira Turnbull,
Travel + Leisure,
6 June 2026
Noun
-
On Sunday, crowds of people gathered to honor the victims of last year's attack on a march for Israeli hostages.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
-
From junior games on pitches every weekend, to crowds piling into pubs to watch England play the World Cup, football, as it is called outside of the United States, is deeply ingrained in the British national psyche.—
Sheena McKenzie,
CNN Money,
7 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Droves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/droves. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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