swarm

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noun

ˈswȯrm

Synonyms of swarm next

: a great number of honeybees emigrating together from a hive in company with a queen to start a new colony elsewhere

: a colony of honeybees settled in a hive

: a large number of animate or inanimate things massed together and usually in motion : throng

swarms of sightseers

a swarm of locusts

a swarm of meteors

: a number of similar geologic features or phenomena close together in space or time

a swarm of dikes

an earthquake swarm

swarm

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verb (1)

swarmed; swarming; swarms

intransitive verb

: to form and depart from a hive in a swarm

: to move or assemble in a crowd : throng

: to hover about in the manner of a bee in a swarm

: to contain a swarm : teem

swarming with bugs

transitive verb

: to fill with a swarm

: to beset or surround in a swarm

players swarming the quarterback

swarmer noun

swarm

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verb (2)

swarmed; swarming; swarms

intransitive verb

: to climb with the hands and feet

specifically : shin

swarm up a pole

transitive verb

: to climb up : mount

Example Sentences

Noun a swarm of tourists descends upon the island every summer

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

There were celebrities, tattoos and even a swarm of bees. —

Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 28 May 2023 The rest include species that spray their venom or swarm and bite.3 How Do Ant Bites Happen? Fire ants sting you by first latching onto your skin with their jaws. —

Maggie O'neill, Health, 28 May 2023 Residents in the 17100 block of West Adlon Road were advised to stay inside with all points of access closed due to a reported raging bee swarm in the area, according to local news outlet ABC-7. —

Alexis Jones, Peoplemag, 17 May 2023 The benefit of a swarm is that some can break down, and the life-giving mining will continue. —

Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 8 May 2023 At the time, swarms of the former One Direction-er’s fans declared their appreciation for Horan choosing to address the feeling anxiety in his music. —

Glenn Rowley, Billboard, 28 Apr. 2023 The swarms show a pseudobiological ability to form robust collective shapes that can adapt to damage and self-repair: a kind of inorganic, robotic tissue. —

Philip Ball, Scientific American, 18 Apr. 2023 According to a 2022 analysis by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a nonpartisan agency that explores topics for lawmakers, high-energy lasers and microwave weapons might be useful for short-range air defense, against drone swarms, and to counter rocket, artillery and mortar fire. —

Alain Sherter, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2023 If the bear stumbled into Bodega Bay while all the crows, sparrows, and gulls were losing their goddamn minds, she’d be overwhelmed by the swarm. —

Vulture, 24 Feb. 2023

Verb

As Amos headed to the porch to get some bug spray, the cluster of bees grew bigger and began swarming him. —

Laura Barcella, Peoplemag, 1 June 2023 But the Celtics began to swarm and trap him more aggressively in the second quarter, forcing someone else to beat them. —

Adam Himmelsbach, BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2023 According to Enquirer reporting from March 7, Ruth refused to sit in a box down in the front while watching the game so he wouldn’t be noticed, but he was announced as being in attendance and was soon swarmed with autograph seekers. —

Kyle Brown, The Enquirer, 10 Mar. 2023 Salem Academy swarmed the Pioneers on Saturday night, winning 51-37 for its first OSAA Class 2A boys basketball state championship. —

oregonlive, 4 Mar. 2023 As usual, Luftwaffe fighters had scrambled and swarmed the cumbersome American bombers, trying to shoot them out of the sky. —

Phil Kloer, ajc, 20 Feb. 2023 Just stay after a match and watch kids swarm the players for autographs. —

Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, 26 Jan. 2023 The current squad is Brazil’s strongest in years, with depth across the pitch, especially up front, where a terrifying array of attacking players, including the wizardly Neymar, is primed to swarm opponents. —

Jody Rosen, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2022 As a Florida State shot bounced off the rim, a sea of players in black jerseys seemed to swarm over the basketball as UCF came away with another rebound. —

Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel, 12 Nov. 2022 See More

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