drove
1 Americanverb
noun
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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:
On the next at-bat, Ohtani drove in Teoscar Hernández from third on a sacrifice fly to center field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
The streets were deserted, metal shutters drawn and houses closed up, as wildfires drove residents and tourists away during the peak summer season.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
The pharmaceuticals division drove a significant portion of the growth, with sales rising 6%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
One woman waited for four hours, only to come out of the theater with her voice and legs shaking; another said she drove 100 miles for the experience.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
“Some are, but not all. Someone from The Red Cross drove me.”
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
As droves of tourists flock to Yosemite, it raises the question: Is it still possible to have a fun time there despite the crowds?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Their numbers increased exponentially as droves began "fleeing the Covid mess … on the East Coast and West Coast," says Mark Corner, president of Southwest Montana Realtors.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
The app has boosted lesser-known businesses and sent tourists in droves to unconventional locations such as Zibo, a quiet industrial city in Shandong, after its cheap, marinated barbecue skewers went viral.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Americans have turned out in droves to watch this summer’s World Cup, shattering TV viewership records to catch underdog upsets, late-game goals and, on Monday night, the U.S. team’s loss to Belgium.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
They landed in droves around the parapet edges.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Cattle that have been two weeks at grass may, however, be safely droved.
From Cattle and Cattle-breeders by M'Combie, William
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
When Cooktown was opened as a port for the diggings, the overland route was abandoned for dray traffic, and droving stock alone used it.
From Early Days in North Queensland by Palmer, Edward
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.
