crowd 1 of 2

Definition of crowdnext
1
as in throng
a great number of persons or creatures massed together a huge crowd of fans was on hand to greet the returning World Series champions

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
3
1
as in to stuff
to fit (people or things) into a tight space crowded all the boats into the harbor before the storm struck

Synonyms & Similar Words

2
as in to flock
to move upon or fill (something) in great numbers cars crowded the roads over the long holiday weekend

Synonyms & Similar Words

3

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun crowd differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of crowd are crush, horde, mob, and throng. While all these words mean "an assembled multitude," crowd implies a close gathering and pressing together.

a crowd gathered

Where would crush be a reasonable alternative to crowd?

The words crush and crowd are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, crush emphasizes the compactness of the group, the difficulty of individual movement, and the attendant discomfort.

a crush of fans

When might mob be a better fit than crowd?

While in some cases nearly identical to crowd, mob implies a disorderly crowd with the potential for violence.

an angry mob

How do throng and horde relate to one another, in the sense of crowd?

Both throng and horde suggest movement and pushing.

a throng of reporters
a horde of shoppers

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crowd
Noun
China's 7-foot-3 teenage sensation Zhang Ziyu scored 8 points while Han Xu lead the team with 19 points and 10 rebounds in front of a raucous crowd at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin. CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026 This year, Jahangiri said, the usual crowds have barely materialized. ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
Verb
Safety and crowding concerns will continue to plague the uptown jail when Jail North reopens to alleviate conditions, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden warned late Friday. Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 5 Sep. 2026 Customers crowd Amelia’s All Day coffee shop/bookstore in Fort Lauderdale’s Victoria Park neighborhood on Saturday September 5, 2026. Mike Stocker, Sun Sentinel, 5 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for crowd
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crowd
Noun
  • Over the past few days, the people at the front of the lines have gradually moved closer and closer to the courtroom, to the point where the doors can barely open without bumping into a throng of people.
    Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
  • My waxer told me of a client who got her foot stuck among a moving throng—her leg went snap.
    Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Republicans and Democrats alike have faced anger from voters anxious about the impact a data center built in their community will have on utility bills, property values, and quality of life.
    Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2026
  • OpenAI’s recent proof, for instance, has yet to receive verification from the wider mathematical community.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The vanishing New York chronicled in the blogs of the mid-aughts has mostly vanished, NYU has colonized large swaths of downtown, and a populace struggling to afford the crushing price of housing has arisen in its wake.
    David Freedlander, Curbed, 11 Sep. 2026
  • But the impulse to monitor the nation’s populace and borders expanded exponentially.
    David Friend, Vanity Fair, 10 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • In Boston, each of the new 425-square-foot wellness rooms at the Dagny has a Peloton bike and a Technogym bench stuffed with dumbbells, elastic bands, and knuckle weights.
    Chadner Navarro, Travel + Leisure, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The museum is deceptively large inside, absolutely stuffed with items.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • On Monday, scores of Gilda’s devotees flocked to pay homage to her at the rusted wreckage of the tour bus, now preserved as a memorial off the national highway that skirts Argentina’s muddy Paranacito River.
    ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Jihadis are not flocking to battle Israel or the United States, and the former Syrian jihadis sitting in Damascus seem to prefer attracting foreign investment to fighting infidel powers.
    Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Co-stars Sofia Boutella, Bill Pullman and Daniel Zovatto also huddled warmly with the director.
    Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Thirty minutes before the preseason finale, and before leaving the field from pregame warmups for the final time as a 19-man band, the Falcons’ defensive backs huddled and brought their fists together on the Hard Rock Stadium sideline.
    Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • With only two publicly demonstrated ready-to-fire missiles, a vehicle like this would be poorly suited to independently handle a large drone swarm.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Also late last week, evidence emerged that a different swarm of OpenAI’s AI agents had taken over a German wiki page and that OpenAI had failed to disclose the incident.
    Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The film concerns a bus full of French high-school seniors on a trip to Pompeii, where the long gaze of history meets their hormonal entanglements and a bunch of Freudian desire.
    Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Everything was very new to me about the process of sitting with a bunch of brilliant writers.
    Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Crowd.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crowd. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

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