drove vs troop

drove

noun
  • A large number of people on the move (literally or figuratively). 

  • A cattle drive or the herd being driven by it; thus, a number of cattle driven to market or new pastures. 

  • A narrow drain or channel used in the irrigation of land. 

  • A road or track along which cattle are habitually driven; a drove road. 

  • The grooved surface of stone finished by the drove chisel. 

  • A group of hares. 

  • A broad chisel used to bring stone to a nearly smooth surface. 

verb
  • To herd cattle; particularly over a long distance. 

  • To finish (stone) with a drove chisel. 

  • simple past tense of drive 

troop

noun
  • A collection of people; a number; a multitude (in general). 

  • Mushrooms that are in a close group but not close enough to be called a cluster. 

  • A group of meerkat families living together. 

  • A company of actors; a troupe. 

  • A chapter of a national girl or boy scouts organization, consisting of one or more patrols of 6 to 8 youngsters each. 

  • A particular roll of the drum; a quick march. 

  • A group of baboons. 

  • A group of soldiers; military forces. 

  • A detachment of soldiers or police, especially horse artillery, armour, or state troopers. 

  • A small unit of cavalry or armour commanded by a captain, corresponding to a platoon or company of infantry. 

  • An individual soldier or member of a military force. 

verb
  • To march on; to go forward in haste. 

  • To move in numbers; to come or gather in crowds or troops. 

  • To move or march as if in a crowd. 

How often have the words drove and troop occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )