drove

1 of 2

noun

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

Examples of drove in a Sentence

Noun people flocked to the annual festival in droves
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Noun
Axing droves of research isn’t like canceling a subscription, said Antoinette Flores, a former Education Department official in Washington, D.C., who uncovered the discrepancies. Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2025 There was a huge social media backlash against Hogwarts Legacy, with droves of people asking others not to play it on account of J.K. Rowling’s beliefs and social media post. Callum Booth, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025 Americans have returned to the cut in large droves, not just to honor the Irish artist, but also thanks to a recent high-profile cover of the tune by two major musicians. Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025 And although traffic quickly flowed out of the neighborhoods, cars were backed up for more than a mile because the lights getting onto the 5 Freeway were controlled by Caltrans, not Irvine, and couldn’t be programmed to accept the droves of cars coming from the northeast. Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for drove

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of drove was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Drove.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drove. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

drove

1 of 2 noun
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"

More from Merriam-Webster on drove

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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