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

Through both of those previous elections, Trump showed himself able to turn out droves of supporters, especially in rural areas and, even while losing in 2020, defying expectations from pollsters and pundits. —Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024

The accolades came in droves for Rueben Bain during his first season with the Miami Hurricanes. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 25 July 2024

To this day, diners flock in their droves to enjoy the vast Belle Époque dining room (which formerly served as the Atlantic Bar & Grill), its mastery of steak haché and a remarkably cheap prix fixe menu. —Charlie Teasdale, theweek, 16 Oct. 2024

Kill Knight could be overlooked during a busy month with major AAA titles coming in droves. —Brian Mazique, Forbes, 4 Oct. 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"