crowd

1 of 3

verb

crowded; crowding; crowds

intransitive verb

1
a
: to press on : hurry
The ships crowded northward.
b
: to press close
The players crowded around the coach.
2
: to collect in numbers
Police officers warned people not to crowd.

transitive verb

1
a
: to fill by pressing or thronging together
crowd a room
b
: to press, force, or thrust into a small space
crowded the people into the bus
2
: push, force
often used with off or out
crowd a person off the sidewalk
3
a
: to urge on
… I crowded him until streams of sweat ran from his beard.Jesse H. Stuart
b
: to put on (sail) in excess of the usual for greater speed
4
: to put pressure on
Don't crowd me, I'll pay.
5
: throng, jostle
… changes … crowd each other in a whirl of confusing images when we try to picture this century …Nicholas Murray Butler
6
: to press or stand close to
The batter was crowding the plate.
7
: to approach or come close to (an age or amount)
a friend who's crowding 70
… a sedan that crowds $100,000 when all the option boxes have been checked.Jeff Sabatini

crowd

2 of 3

noun (1)

1
: a large number of persons especially when collected together : throng
2
a
: the great body of the people : populace
b
: most of one's peers
follow the crowd
3
: a large number of things close together
… I saw a crowd … of golden daffodils …William Wordsworth
4
: a group of people having something (such as a habit, interest, or occupation) in common
in with the wrong crowd
the Hollywood crowd
1
: an ancient Celtic stringed instrument that is plucked or bowed

called also crwth

2
dialectal, England : violin

Illustration of crowd

Illustration of crowd
  • 3crowd 1
Choose the Right Synonym for crowd

crowd, throng, horde, crush, mob mean an assembled multitude.

crowd implies a close gathering and pressing together.

a crowd gathered

throng and horde suggest movement and pushing.

a throng of reporters
a horde of shoppers

crush emphasizes the compactness of the group, the difficulty of individual movement, and the attendant discomfort.

a crush of fans

mob implies a disorderly crowd with the potential for violence.

an angry mob

Examples of crowd in a Sentence

Verb Boxes crowded the floor of my apartment. There are too many products crowding the market. The club has been accused of crowding too many people into too small a space. By the end of the 10th mile, three bicyclists were crowding the racer in front. Please move back. You're crowding me.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Airport bathrooms can be crowded, and many of us our rushing to our flights. Jenn Rice, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Sep. 2023 There are plenty of reasons to keep tabs this season on the Washington Bach Consort, whose many offerings of chamber music, noontime cantatas, special presentations and robustly realized full performances of great works can crowd your calendar. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2023 Beachgoers crowd Montrose Beach in Chicago on Monday. Nidhi Sharma, NBC News, 5 Sep. 2023 After the game, fans crowded onto the outfield grass to view a video tribute to Bryant that was punctuated by a drone show. Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2023 On June 24, the couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with more than 150 friends, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren crowding into the local American Legion Hall. Susan Young, Peoplemag, 2 Sep. 2023 Fans crowded the Ford Stadium concourse seeking shade and water, which this year will be distributed at the gates for free. Stefan Stevenson, Dallas News, 1 Sep. 2023 The spring gets crowded and wait times can range from one to three hours. Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 31 Aug. 2023 Around the affordable eateries and motley shops where workers once crowded, employees eagerly latch onto anyone passing by. Vivian Wang, New York Times, 29 Aug. 2023
Noun
That shows failed to attract crowds seen at earlier Detroit Auto Shows. Michael Dobuski, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2023 In a video shared by 7 News WHDH, a crowd can be seen huddled near what appears to be two people, trying to pull them away from each other. Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 20 Sep. 2023 Analyzing the top high school football games this week: FRIDAY Thousand Oaks (3-2, 1-0) at Newbury Park (3-1, 1-0), 7 p.m. This Canyon League showdown between neighborhood teams should produce a packed crowd. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2023 According to a statement of facts from the FBI, starting at about 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, a crowd began amassing on the west front of the Capitol. Bill Bowden, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2023 Yellowstone can still draw a crowd — even for a repeat. Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Sep. 2023 Unlike the total solar eclipse in 2017, when visitors were expected across Oregon, tourism officials are expecting crowds this year to be concentrated in one part of the state: Klamath County. Jamie Hale, oregonlive, 19 Sep. 2023 In statements issued by BP and local police, tear gas was used to disperse crowds. Heather Chen, CNN, 19 Sep. 2023 The exact time and audience are not yet clear, but the New York Times first reported Trump would skip the California debate in favor of remarks to a union crowd. Olivia Rinaldi, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crowd.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English crouden "to push forward, jostle, press, push or drive (something wheeled)," going back to Old English crūdan "to crowd, press (against), press forward (of a ship)," going back to Germanic *krūdan- "to press, push forward" (whence also Middle Dutch crûden "to push, shove, trundle," Norwegian regional kryda (preterit kraud) "to flow together, congregate"), of uncertain origin

Note: Old English crūdan, a Class II strong verb, is attested twice in poetic texts, as crydeþ (third person singular present) and cread (third singular preterit); evidence in other old Germanic languages is lacking. Nominal derivatives *kruda- and *krudan- are evident in Old English lindgecrod "shield-bearing crowd" and lindcroda "shield-press, battle"; the same underlying forms may be evident in Middle Dutch crod "hindrance, bother," Middle High German krot "annoyance, distress," kroten, kröten "to bother, annoy." (Further Frisian and Low German forms are detailed in the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, s.v. crowd.) See also crud entry 2.

Noun (1)

derivative of crowd entry 1

Noun (2)

Middle English crouþ, croude, borrowed from Middle Welsh crwth "crowd (the instrument), fiddle, hump, humpback, anything round or bulging," going back to Celtic *krutto- "round or bulging object" (whence also, from a feminine derivative *kruttā, Welsh croth "womb, belly"; also Middle Irish crott, cruitt "harp, lyre, hump," Middle Breton courz "female genitals"), probably of expressive origin

Note: The word crotta as the name of a musical instrument was used by the sixth century Latin poet and hymnodist Venantius Fortunatus ("… crotta Britanna canat" - "… may the British crotta sing"). The grounds for the shift from th to d in the English word are uncertain.

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun (1)

1565, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of crowd was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near crowd

Cite this Entry

“Crowd.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crowd. Accessed 28 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

crowd

1 of 2 verb
1
: to press forward or close
crowd into an elevator
2
: to push or press into a small space
crowd coats into a closet
3
: to fill or pack by pressing together
cars crowded the roads
4
: to push or force by or as if by a crowd
we were crowded off the sidewalk

crowd

2 of 2 noun
1
: a large number of persons or things crowded or crowding together
2
: the population as a whole : ordinary people
books that appeal to the crowd
3
: a large number of things close together
4
: a group of people having a common interest

More from Merriam-Webster on crowd

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