throng

1 of 2

noun

ˈthrȯŋ 

1

a

: a multitude of assembled persons

b

: a large number : host entry 4

2

a

: a crowding together of many persons

b

: a pressing increase of activity

… this throng of business …

—S. R. Crockett

throng

2 of 2

verb

thronged; thronging ˈthrȯŋ-iŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to crowd upon : press

a celebrity thronged by fans

2

: to crowd into : pack

shoppers thronging the streets

intransitive verb

: to crowd together in great numbers

Synonyms of throng

Noun

• crowd
• swarm
• flock
• horde

Verb

• flock

Choose the Right Synonym for throng

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 throng in a Sentence

Noun

grabbed a megaphone and addressed the vast throng

Verb

Shoppers thronged the mall for the sales.

fans thronged the field to celebrate the win

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Rapt throngs were materializing out of nowhere, summoned by signals that had circled the planet. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Nov. 2026

For now, and despite planned protests, the Louvre remains open, and visitors can try to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa in the good company of other Da Vinci paintings and throngs of selfie-wielding tourists. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 9 Nov. 2026

Verb

During the peak of the late-2010s streetwear boom, the locale was consistently thronged with teens and twenty-somethings who would camp out for hours ahead of big drops. — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026

While midday crowds throng under a brilliant sky on Milan’s Piazza del Duomo, darkness gathers behind the windows of the nearby Palazzo Reale, where the vernissage for a major Francis Picabia retrospective has just begun. — Nicole Kaack, ARTnews.com, 30 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English throng, thrang "mass, press," going back to Old English *þrang or geþrang (with ge-, collective prefix), going back to West Germanic *þrang- (whence Middle Dutch gedranc "crowd, press," dranc, drang "pressure," Old High German gidrang "crowd, mass"), noun ablaut derivative from the base of Germanic *þrengan-,*þrenhan- "to press" (whence Old Saxon thringan "to press, urge," Old High German dringan, thringan, Old Norse þryngva "to press, crowd," Gothic þreihan), going back to dialectal Indo-European *trenk- "press," whence also Lithuanian trenkiù, treñkti "to push roughly, fling"

Verb

Middle English thrangen, throngen, probably derivative of throng, thrang throng entry 1, replacing thringen, going back to Old English þringan

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for throng

• bhang
• bong
• dong
• gong
• hmong
• jong
• longue
• mong
• pong
• prong
• rong
• song

Kids Definition

throng

1 of 2 noun

ˈthrȯŋ 

1

: a large number of people gathered together

a throng of over 3000

2

: a large number : crowd

a throng of fans

a throng of cars

throng

2 of 2 verb

thronged; thronging ˈthrȯŋ-iŋ 

1

: to crowd upon or into

a celebrity thronged by fans

shoppers thronged the mall

2

: to move, pass, or crowd together in great numbers

the commuters thronged towards the station