drove
1 Americanverb
noun
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droves
plural
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a number of oxen, sheep, or swine driven in a group; herd; flock.
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Usually droves a large crowd of human beings, especially in motion.
They came to Yankee Stadium in droves.
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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.
verb (used with or without object)
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to drive or deal in (cattle) as a drover; herd.
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Masonry. to work or smooth (stone) as with a drove.
noun
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a herd of livestock being driven together
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(often plural) a moving crowd of people
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a narrow irrigation channel
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Also called: drove chisel. a chisel with a broad edge used for dressing stone
verb
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(tr) to drive (a group of livestock), usually for a considerable distance
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(intr) to be employed as a drover
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to work (a stone surface) with a drove
verb
Synonym Usage
See flock 1.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
After the war, booming livestock production drove demand for protein-rich soybean meal.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
When Renger left home last month, he packed what he could, flying to New Jersey to visit family, then drove to New York with his parents before moving in on a Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
"Dr. Salvador really conceptualized and drove this work from the beginning," said Dr. Sheikh.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Sudden downpours can trigger mudslides—an unexpected hailstorm lashed Drolma’s SUV as she drove her haul back to town on the recent August day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
When we got to the depot, Papa drove around behind it and tied the team to a hitching rail.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
We thought Gen Z had started going to church in droves.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
In the months leading up to summer, Paul Gunsky installed new reclining seats and immersive sound systems at his Bay Area CineLux Theatres chain in hopes that moviegoers would return in droves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
“Eleanor Rigby” attracted a post-55 audience in droves, while the good-natured storyline and nautical sound effects inherent in “Yellow Submarine” drew children and pre-teens into The Beatles’ camp.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Someone must have explained to him that the wealthy already are fleeing Britain in droves, and such an increase would generate much less revenue than advertised.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
I could see the Sixer troops around Daito screaming into their comlinks for backup, and additional Sixer gunships were still arriving in droves.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Cattle that have been two weeks at grass may, however, be safely droved.
From Cattle and Cattle-breeders by William M'Combie
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
The bridge across the River Rede was situated on a historic droving route used by farmers to move large numbers of sheep and cattle between England and Scotland.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2020
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
Growing up in Moree, in outback New South Wales, he would go droving at weekends while he was still at school.
From Time Magazine Archive
"I am going south to Carlisle to try the dealing and droving" said the man, "for I have some skill of sheep."
From The Moon Endureth: Tales and Fancies by John Buchan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
