droves

noun

plural of drove
1
as in throngs
a great number of persons or creatures massed together people flocked to the annual festival in droves

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in flocks
a group of domestic animals assembled or herded together a drove of cattle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of droves The bust, however, began as soon as the early 1880s and droves of residents began to leave. — Kieron Marchese, Architectural Digest, 27 July 2026 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 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 The Aragon, which later generations experienced mainly as a shabby, sticky home for loud rock music, was once the North Side’s hub for romance, where young men and women came in droves to dance to mellow music in an elegant atmosphere. — Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026 Diners who would normally not venture to this neighborhood are coming in droves for the comfortable, cheffy takes on gastropub cuisine. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 July 2026 The parkway was evacuated Saturday evening while droves of people were still in line to enter due to approaching thunderstorms. — Kaitlyn McCormick, USA Today, 6 July 2026 Korea, after all, is where the term originated, and droves of K-beauty products are formulated specifically to achieve ultimate clarity, bounciness, and light-reflecting dewiness. — Sophie Wirt, InStyle, 1 July 2026 Join the droves of shoppers buying this cute henley top with a relaxed fit. — Isabel Garcia, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for droves
  1. throngs
  2. flocks
  3. swarms
  4. hordes
  5. crowds
Noun
  • These friends describe a large party on Horn Island, which is a favorite gathering spot in the summer, with throngs of people spread out in the sun and surf and around numerous boats, some of them drinking in water known to be deep and dangerous.
    — Adam Carlson, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026
  • Just Friday, a member of the Blue Angels, the Navy’s flight-demonstration team, buzzed Pensacola Beach at extremely low altitude and a high angle of bank, close to throngs of spectators.
    — Brynn Tannehill, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026
Definition of throngs
Noun
  • The last shepherds who tended their flocks while walking on stilts disappeared.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 31 July 2026
  • Captive flocks were established, and Canada geese were reintroduced back into native areas by transplanting geese from those captive or existing flocks.
    — Mark Vrtiska, The Conversation, 30 July 2026
Definition of flocks
Noun
  • The swarms of flies that roamed the planet like a devouring fog enclosed the top of the tower, building new, shivering walls, buzzing in a frenzy of life and hunger.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 27 July 2026
  • The bright light attracts massive swarms of flying insects, chased by birds, which unwittingly get instantly vaporized mid-air by the invisible, high-temperature beams.
    — Indrabati Lahiri, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
Definition of swarms
Noun
  • Video shows hordes of apparently military-aged men smiling and posing for cameras, some carrying swimming flippers, and sprinting through the streets as authorities struggle to corral the unruly masses.
    — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026
  • This is a real neighborhood with authentic shops and restaurants, removed from the hordes of tourists near the Duomo.
    — Irene S. Levine, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of hordes
Noun
  • But as demonstrations attracted larger crowds, the government was forced to acknowledge them and respond to their growing influence.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Once a lawyerly panel, a takeover by a trio of conservatives deeply mistrustful of the state’s voting system has turned the board’s once mundane meetings into boisterous events packed with crowds of cheering and jeering activists.
    — Tamar Hallerman, AJC.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of crowds

Browse Nearby Words

drovers
droves
drown
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Cite this Entry

“Droves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/droves. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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