Showing results for "drove"

• past tense form of drive.

drove

¹ American  

[drohv] / droʊv /

verb

1. simple past tense of drive.

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drove ² American  

[drohv] / droʊv /

noun

• droves
  plural

1. a number of oxen, sheep, or swine driven in a group; herd; flock.

2. Usually droves a large crowd of human beings, especially in motion.

   They came to Yankee Stadium in droves.

3. Also called drove chisel. Masonry. a chisel, from 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) broad at the edge, for dressing stones to an approximately true surface.

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verb (used with or without object)

droved, droving

1. to drive or deal in (cattle) as a drover; herd.

2. Masonry. to work or smooth (stone) as with a drove.

drove ¹ British  

/ drəʊv /

noun

1. a herd of livestock being driven together

2. (often plural) a moving crowd of people

3. a narrow irrigation channel

4. Also called: drove chisel. a chisel with a broad edge used for dressing stone

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verb

1. 1. (tr) to drive (a group of livestock), usually for a considerable distance

   2. (intr) to be employed as a drover

2. to work (a stone surface) with a drove

drove ² British  

/ drəʊv /

verb

1. the past tense of drive

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Synonym Usage

See flock ¹.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• droves
  plural

Etymology

Origin of drove

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English drāf “that which is driven,” i.e., “herd, flock”; akin to drive

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

drove droves droved droving

Glasnow’s five walks drove up his pitch count, but he gave up only one hit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

The death of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal on Wednesday drove a "stunned" Lopez to lay a candle on Thursday at an improvised shrine in the Spanish capital's Puerta del Sol square, the epicentre of the protests.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

Afterwards, Ruto personally drove the couple to their waiting helicopter.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

It was supposed to be a year where healthy economic growth drove a broadening out of the stock market.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

You found clothes for us and got our meals, drove us places, and took us to your sister’s house for Thanksgiving.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

He was the leader of the military when it began a 2017 crackdown evicting Rohingya in droves from their homes in western Myanmar.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

In L.A., people trip and fall in droves and successfully sue the city for millions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

The goofy, R-rated “Starship Troopers” famously tanked domestically among adults, but was a notable hit among teen boys, who sneaked into the flick in droves.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

Jacksonville State typically drew candidates from nearby counties, but in the last cycle it also attracted applicants in droves from the southern and western parts of the state.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

The threatened prosecution of aliens also backfired on the Federalists, when Irish immigrants in New York and Germans in Pennsylvania, formerly staunch supporters of the Adams administration, went over to the Republicans in droves.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Cattle that have been two weeks at grass may, however, be safely droved.

From Cattle and Cattle-breeders by William M'Combie

In a practice known as turkey droving, thousands of birds, some wearing tiny leather boots, were herded through fields and along rough roads on a three-month journey.

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025

The Captain's Road, which links two droving inns, Tibbie Shiel's and Tushielaw, was one of the earliest metalled roads connecting the Ettrick and Yarrow valleys.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2022

Gunbar, a dusty village with fewer than 100 people, is typical of the stops along the droving route of rutted, red dust roads.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2014

I simply drove into the subject and when it comes to droving into a subject a Durante admits no peers.

From Time Magazine Archive

By Jove!" said Ferrier, when they had marched for an hour and covered perhaps two miles, "I begin to understand what your droving job was like.

From Settlers and Scouts by Herbert Strang