# drove

Pronunciation: say "DROHV" US /dɹoʊv/, UK /dɹəʊv/

## Verb

1. Past tense of drive. — simple past of drive
   - Simple: Past tense of drive. Use it for the past.
   - _Heavy rain drove the crowd indoors before noon._
   - _The committee drove the project to completion in record time._
4. To drive a herd of cattle overland, especially on a long journey to distant pasture or market.
   - Simple: To move a herd of cattle from one place to another, often far away.
   - _Skilled hands were hired to drove cattle from the inland stations to coastal markets._
   - _She's droving with her uncle's herd out past the river crossing this month._
5. Dialectal past participle of drive, used where standard English has driven. *(dialectal)* — past participle of drive
   - Simple: Past participle of drive. In some dialects, used after has, have, or had in place of 'driven'.
   - _She had drove for hours before the storm finally hit._
   - _By midnight they had drove the last of the cattle into the yard._
11. To finish a stone surface by working it with a drove chisel.
   - Simple: To smooth the surface of stone using a wide chisel.
   - _The contractor asked them to drove the limestone before fitting it._
   - _Master masons would drove each panel by hand in the old workshop._

## Noun

2. A large number of people moving together from one place to another.
   - Simple: A big crowd of people moving together from place to place.
   - _A drove of commuters surged toward the platform when the doors opened._
   - _Tourists arrived in droves during the summer festival._
3. A herd of cattle being driven together over a distance, as to market or fresh pastures.
   - Simple: A group of cattle being moved together, often to market or new land.
   - _The drove reached the railhead after weeks on the trail._
   - _Ranch hands sold the entire drove at the stockyards._
6. A road or track along which cattle are, were, or could be driven; a droveway.
   - Simple: A road or path used for moving cattle from place to place.
   - _Walkers now use the ancient drove as a scenic footpath._
   - _The drove wound for miles across the open moorland._
7. A group of hares gathered or moving together.
   - Simple: A group of hares seen together in one place.
   - _A drove of hares bolted from the tall grass as we approached._
   - _The meadow held a drove of hares feeding in the early light._
8. A broad-edged chisel used to work stone down to a nearly smooth surface.
   - Simple: A wide chisel used to smooth the surface of stone.
   - _The stonemason worked the granite face with a drove until it was nearly smooth._
   - _A well-sharpened drove leaves shallow parallel marks across the stone._
9. A narrow drain or channel used to carry water for irrigating land.
   - Simple: A small ditch or channel that carries water across farmland.
   - _Each drove fed water from the river into the surrounding fields._
   - _They dug a new drove to drain the waterlogged meadow._
10. The finely grooved finish left on stone after working it with a drove chisel.
   - Simple: The lined, grooved surface left on stone after smoothing it with a wide chisel.
   - _Light caught the parallel lines of the drove across the cathedral wall._
   - _Masons admired the even drove left on the polished block._

## Origin

**Meanings 2–3, 6–10** — From Middle English drove, from Old English drāf ("action of driving; a herd or band driven along; a road for driving cattle"), from Proto-Germanic *draibō and Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- ("to drive, push"). It is related to Dutch dreef, Swedish drev, and Icelandic dreif, and is connected to drive.
**Meanings 1, 4–5, 11** — From an earlier form drave, from Middle English drave, from Old English drāf, the first and third person singular past tense of drīfan ("to drive").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/drove (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).