CROWDING Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

crowding

verb

present participle of crowd

as in cramming

to fit (people or things) into a tight space crowded all the boats into the harbor before the storm struck

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in flocking

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in huddling

to gather into a closely packed group everyone crowded around to see the baby being shown off by his proud parents

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 crowding 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 The federal government has transferred many detainees to some of the nation’s largest detention facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi, complicating their legal representation and crowding the dockets in those states. — Carla Astudillo, ProPublica, 3 Sep. 2026 The past month has brought a whirlwind of residents crowding into city council and planning and zoning meetings as a legal battle brews between the Lakes at Marshall Ridge Homeowners Association, the city of Keller and the town of Westlake. — Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Sep. 2026 But be kind and patient with Universal staffers, who may not always be able to grant such requests due to crowding. — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026 War refugees, who had been crowding into the city for years, did not let Dresdeners forget the dire circumstances elsewhere in Germany. — Literary Hub, 31 Aug. 2026 While crowding can be an issue, so can removing trees and opening up the space. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026 Hedge funds delivered strong gains in the second quarter as the market was being fueled by popular AI stocks, which helped hedge fund crowding climbed to a record, Goldman said. — Justina Lee, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026 Too Many Chairs Trying to make your living room more sociable by crowding it with chairs is a big mistake. — Angelika Pokovba, Martha Stewart, 20 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for crowding

Verb

The common thread among them is many, many hours spent cramming parenting and their careers into each day.

— Tilly Berendt, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Kim was a relatively normal teenager who, while cramming for tests and navigating crushes, also had to save the world from any villain who wished to do harm.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of cramming

Verb

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
But Johannès is not the only reason Les Bleues started flocking to the WNBA.

— Eden Laase, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of flocking

Verb

Once a fixture of the American experience, the custom of collectively huddling around the cathode-ray hearth has largely been supplanted by the isolationist practices of the smartphone era.

— Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 19 Aug. 2026
Meanwhile, Hochul visited the Buffalo Bills training camp, chatting with fans and huddling with the team.

— Marcia Kramer, CBS News, 29 July 2026

Definition of huddling

Verb

After defeating Savannah State 87-0 while setting a program record for points, and piling up 627 yards of offense, the bulldogs rushed for 423 yards, converted eight of 10 third downs and scored on all 11 trips into the red zone.

— D’Joumbarey A. Moreau, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
At the same time, waste is still piling up and resale’s environmental footprint is rising.

— Bella Webb, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of piling

Verb

And his big-game jitters were reflected in the first inning of what was eventually a 1-0 loss, when his shaky command led to him loading the bases with two outs.

— Jesús Cano, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Now, Stanford was loading the box most of Friday night in an attempt to eliminate the run game.

— Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of loading

Verb

And from there, Eddie George’s squad appeared to have little direction offensively against a swarming unit.

— Mitch Sherman, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026
The order, which originated with a USFS Bat Conservation Strategy recommendation, is meant to reduce human disturbance during fall swarming, hibernation and spring emergence, according to federal documents.

— Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of swarming

Browse Nearby Words

crowded

crowding

crowd-pleasing

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Crowding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crowding. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of crowding

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

quorum

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes