droves

Crowds in motion

Droves is the plural of drove, which originally meant a herd of animals being driven somewhere—cattle, sheep, pigs moving along a road.

Now droves almost always appears in the phrase in droves, meaning in large numbers: Fans left in droves after the third quarter.

The word emphasizes mass movement, usually of people arriving or departing together.

crowds

masses

Bulk or populace

hordesVery large crowds
throngsLarge, dense crowds
multitudesVery large numbers

swarms · flocks · legions · scores · crowds · mobs · herds · waves · floods · streams

abundance

plentiful

Existing in abundance

copiousExisting in abundance
ampleFully sufficient, even excessive
profusionExtravagant amount present

plethora · teeming · galore · countless · innumerable · myriad · scores · legions · hosts · multitudes

livestock

cattle

Domesticated bovines kept commercially

sheepWoolly farm animal
herdGrazing animals together
flockAnimals gathered together

livestock · rancher · shepherd · grazing · pasture · stockyard · roundup · market · auction · trail

migration

exodus

Mass departure from somewhere

movementChange in position
relocationPermanent change of residence
departureAct of going away

arrival · influx · emigration · immigration · seasonal · caravan · journey · passage · dispersal · nomadic

Categories

Amountsa lot, a few, a little, some, many
livestockcow, cows, cattle, bull, bulls
quantitiessome, many, few, amount, several
words for "manymyriad, multitude, numerous, countless, abundant

Opposites

quantity/abundance

Thin, slow stream

handful · few · smattering · scattering · sprinkling

Phrases

drove offCaused to flee
drove awayCaused to depart
drove someone crazyCaused extreme frustration
drove someone nutsExtremely annoyed someone
in drovesIn large numbers
drove home

Family

drove, drover, drovers

Familiarity: Top 50,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G