swarm

1 of 3

noun

1
a
: a great number of honeybees emigrating together from a hive in company with a queen to start a new colony elsewhere
b
: a colony of honeybees settled in a hive
2
a
: 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
b
: a number of similar geologic features or phenomena close together in space or time
a swarm of dikes
an earthquake swarm

swarm

2 of 3

verb (1)

swarmed; swarming; swarms

intransitive verb

1
: to form and depart from a hive in a swarm
2
a
: to move or assemble in a crowd : throng
b
: to hover about in the manner of a bee in a swarm
3
: to contain a swarm : teem
swarming with bugs

transitive verb

1
: to fill with a swarm
2
: to beset or surround in a swarm
players swarming the quarterback
swarmer noun

swarm

3 of 3

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

Examples of swarm in a Sentence

Noun a swarm of tourists descends upon the island every summer
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
As Patrón trotted past, the models collectively fluttered like a swarm of starlings. Upon returning, Patrón spent the rest of the evening at the bar, his front paws resting on its edge, as though waiting for a drink. Amanda Fortini, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 Some apoptotic factors, such as caspases in animals, can activate each other in a cascade of startling swiftness that becomes a swarm and cuts the cell’s structures to ribbons. Quanta Magazine, 6 Mar. 2024 These robots would dismantle the planet to construct not only more of themselves but also the sunlight collectors making up the swarm. Karl Schroeder, IEEE Spectrum, 24 Feb. 2024 The Russian military used swarms of drones, many of them Iranian-made, in attacks against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure targets. Ariel Cohen, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 There is even a satirical depiction of a feast laid for noblemen threatened by a giant swarm of flies. Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024 Instead, it would be nested inside a satellite, capable of destroying swarms of commercial and military satellites circulating alongside it in low-earth orbit, including those like Starlink that are remaking global communications capabilities. David E. Sanger, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024 These new bots swarm websites not to catalog content but to feed that content to AI, a technology that threatens to replace search as the default means of online discovery (and does so by digesting and regurgitating the content in a monstrous, unciteable form). Longreads, 16 Feb. 2024 In the Russia-Ukraine war, drone conflict has often meant swarms of dozens of drones attacking at once. David Ingram, NBC News, 7 Feb. 2024
Verb
After players retreated to the locker room, Davis rushed to the court to corral the flying insects which had begun swarming on one of the overhead cameras on court. Ben Church, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 In front of a raucous home crowd, Golden State was suddenly swarming. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024 As news crews swarmed the Foleys’ house and phone calls poured in, Foley grew angry. Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 Read more Photo of the day: Tumbleweeds overwhelm Utah neighborhoods Videos shared online show massive amounts of tumbleweeds swarming parts of Utah, even stacking several feet high around homes. USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2024 These are spectacular, without a doubt, but are often swarmed with tourists. Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 3 Mar. 2024 Despite a large number of tourists swarming the country, very low proficiency was measures in 2022 at 416 out of 800 points. Katharina Buchholz, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 The team members swarm around it, peering intently at the contents: large, twisted pieces of metal, some scorched and warped by fire, and several mysterious sections of black rubber. Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 22 Feb. 2024 Constant crowds swarmed the mural, incessantly triggering the building’s security light; this led the property’s owner to cover the work with black paint and sell the office space. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 6 Mar. 2024

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.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English swearm; akin to Old High German swaram swarm and probably to Latin susurrus hum

Verb (2)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun

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

Verb (1)

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

Verb (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

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

Dictionary Entries Near swarm

Cite this Entry

“Swarm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swarm. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

swarm

1 of 2 noun
1
: a great number of honeybees leaving together from a hive with a queen to start a new colony elsewhere
also : a colony of honeybees settled in a hive
2
: a large number grouped together and usually in motion
swarms of sightseers
a swarm of meteors

swarm

2 of 2 verb
1
: to form and leave a hive in a swarm
2
: to move or gather in a swarm : throng
spectators swarmed into the stadium
3
: to contain or fill with a swarm

More from Merriam-Webster on swarm

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