throng

1 of 2

noun

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 businessS. R. Crockett

throng

2 of 2

verb

thronged; thronging ˈthrȯŋ-iŋ How to pronounce throng (audio)

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
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
The Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa is a stone’s throw from the venue, and its beautiful desert grounds are a welcoming respite from the throngs trying to get a glimpse of Rafa (who will play on the evening of March 7th). Kim Westerman, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 In a tradition that stretches back to the 1960s, the west-facing public plaza attracts buskers and street acrobats keen to entertain the throngs searching for the elusive green flash that occasionally appears just as the sun disappears on the horizon. Elaine Glusac, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2024 But those promises did not appease the throngs that had descended on the salon early Saturday morning. Liz Alderman, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024 The mass shooting that unfolded amid throngs of people at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl celebration, killing one person and wounding almost two dozen others, appeared to stem from a dispute between several people, authorities said Thursday. Heather Hollingsworth, arkansasonline.com, 16 Feb. 2024 Well, for one reason: to avoid the throngs of visitors who had that same thought. Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 25 Jan. 2024 Editor’s picks Those throngs of free-spending tourists are staying extra days, while corporations are pouring into town to entertain their best clients. John L. Smith, Rolling Stone, 9 Feb. 2024 Tara and Badger form a warm, though tacit, connection, but amid the throng they are driven apart by a misunderstanding. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2024 Purdue players and staff were still on the court when time expired at Nebraska, where even head football coach Matt Rhule was among the throng that went onto the court. Eric Olson and Pete Iacobelli, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2024
Verb
Sixteen-year-old Seydou (Seydou Sarr) and his cousin and best buddy Moussa (Moustapha Fall) are a rambunctious duo who love joining in the impromptu music and dance festivals that throng the streets of Dakar. Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb. 2024 Back at the Fontainebleau, one of the week’s gatherings, Global Alts 2024, was wrapping inside the thronging LIV nightclub. Michael Smith, Fortune, 3 Feb. 2024 Working outdoors, mostly on the urban street, Winogrand didn’t seem to frame anything, and even when his images were thronged with people, nothing much happened in them. Vince Aletti, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2024 At his funeral in 2020, a stampede broke out and at least 56 people were killed and more than 200 were injured as thousands thronged the procession. Jon Gambrell, USA TODAY, 3 Jan. 2024 In the weeks after his ouster, Khan drew tens of thousands to nationwide rallies that became a fixture in the country’s volatile political scene, with his supporters thronging the streets in his defense. Sophia Saifi, CNN, 30 Jan. 2024 Customers thronged to a beloved Sacramento-area Chinese restaurant on Monday afternoon to say goodbye. Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 24 Jan. 2024 Fans are still boarding trains, or parking their cars, or thronging the pubs. Rory Smith, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2024 With the onset of the holiday week between New Year’s Day and Orthodox Christmas, Russians have been thronging the halls of the new Russia Expo, a collection of 130 colorful, innovative, and surprisingly upbeat exhibits spread over nearly 600 acres of exhibition grounds. Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'throng.' 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

Noun

Middle English throng, thrang "mass, press," going back to Old English *thrang or gethrang (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 thringan

First Known Use

Noun

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

Verb

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of throng was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near throng

Cite this Entry

“Throng.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/throng. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

throng

1 of 2 noun
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 How to pronounce throng (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on throng

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