Dictionary
Thesaurus
Medical
Scrabble®
Spanish Central
Browse DictionaryBrowse Thesaurus
Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android
Games
Word of the Day
Video
Blog: Words at Play
My Faves
Dictionary

1drove

noun \ˈdrōv\

: a large group of people or animals that move or act together

Full Definition of DROVE

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>
See drove defined for English-language learners
See drove defined for kids
ADVERTISEMENT

Origin of DROVE

Middle English, from Old English drāf, from drīfan to drive — more at drive
First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to DROVE

Synonyms
army, bike [chiefly Scottish], cram, crush, crowd, flock, herd, horde, host, legion, mass, mob, multitude, press, rout, scrum, swarm, throng

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

apiary, bantam, calico, girth, hogwash, mast, rut

Rhymes with DROVE

clove, cove, fauve, grove, Jove, mauve, rove, stove, trove

2drove

Definition of DROVE

past of drive
DROVE Defined for Kids

1drove

noun \ˈdrōv\

Definition of DROVE for Kids

:  a large group of animals or people moving or acting together <droves of shoppers>

2drove

Definition of DROVE for Kids

past of drive

Learn More About DROVE

Browse

5 ENTRIES FOUND:
  1. drove
  2. drive
  3. drove road
  4. drive out
  5. test-drive
Next Word in the Dictionary: droverPrevious Word in the Dictionary: droukAll Words Near: drove
ADVERTISEMENT
10 Charming Words for Nasty People
Put-downs with flair
Learn More
When "Literally" isn't, well, literal
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.
Watch Now
Know what this is?
Test your vocab with our fun, fast game
Go Play
Fear of cats?
Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears
Learn More
Join Us
Merriam-Webster
on Facebook
Merriam-Webster
on Twitter
Bookstore: Digital and Print
Merriam-Webster references for Mobile, Kindle, print, and more.
See All
Other Merriam-Webster Dictionaries