herd 1 of 2

noun

ˈhərd How to pronounce herd (audio)
Definition of herdnext
1
as in flock
a group of domestic animals assembled or herded together the great herds of cattle that cowboys once drove across the plains

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in populace
the body of the community as contrasted with the elite aspire to achieve something, to distinguish yourself from the herd

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in throng
a great number of persons or things massed together gearing up for the herd of holiday shoppers at the mall on the day after Thanksgiving

Synonyms & Similar Words

herd

2 of 2

verb

as in to drive
to urge, push, or force onward the guards briskly herded us through the museum in order to prevent overcrowding

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 herd
Noun
Subscribe to hear this story The deer herd in metro Detroit keeps growing and so does the pressure on local officials to find a way to manage the animals in the suburbs. — Susan Bromley, Freep.com, 1 Sep. 2026 While owning a herd of alpacas isn’t realistic for everyone, stepping onto Lost Mountain Alpaca Ranch offers a temporary break from a busy world. — Olivia Wakim, AJC.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Verb
Migrant workers were herded onto buses, boats and planes and sent to Mexico. — Tania Azhang, Sacbee.com, 17 Aug. 2026 Deep within the backwoods of rural Oklahoma, charismatic and musically gifted Amziah King herds a bluegrass-playing band of misfits while overseeing the premier honey-making operation in town. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for herd
Recent Examples of Synonyms for herd
  1. flock
  2. populace
  3. throng
  4. drive
  5. crowd
  6. swarm
  7. public
  8. horde
Noun
  • And then there are the animals The regulations say domestic or other animals kept in groups such as packs, herds, litters, bevies or flocks larger than three are prohibited, unless the Village approves otherwise by resolution.
    — Luisa Yanez Updated September 3, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Kicking things off are pieces adorned with Tiffany’s latest flock of birds that take their cues from Schlumberger’s 1950s Flames earrings, meant to resemble solar flares in its appearance.
    — Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of flock
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
Definition of populace
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
Definition of throng
Verb
  • Haaland, along with Martin Odegaard, was the driving force behind Norway’s run to the quarter-finals.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • If Assembly Bill 1709 is approved, social media companies would need to provide platforms to children under 16 years old that do not include personalized feeds driven by algorithms, autoplaying videos and other features.
    — Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of drive
Noun
  • Meanwhile, this is the freshest old man Aaron Rodgers will be all season, and the home crowd will be a factor in native son Mike McCarthy’s debut.
    — Vic Tafur, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Each one of these items, including a versatile milk frother, quality coffee bean grinder and buzzy candy, can be used for making a cup of coffee in the morning or entertaining a crowd ready to get caffeinated.
    — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of crowd
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
Definition of swarm
Noun
  • It’s been just a few years since ChatGPT’s release to public in late 2022, democratizing access to chatbots with the ability to answer increasingly personal questions using language from the whole of the internet.
    — Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 6 Sep. 2026
  • When a self-serving gatekeeper in that position helps divide inventory between what the broad public can see and what only market insiders can see, the result is a less transparent and competitive market.
    — Tomas J. Philipson, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of public
Noun
  • In 1935, a horde of white people stood around as Rubin Stacy, a Black farmworker, was lynched in Plantation Florida.
    — Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 9 Sep. 2026
  • His throw to Jordan Allen was the best yet, with a scramble to get away from a horde of defenders, then composing himself and finding Allen in the middle of the field for a 23-yard gain, giving the Jackets first-and-goal.
    — AJC.com, AJC.com, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of horde

Phrases Containing herd

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herculean
herd
herded
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Cite this Entry

“Herd.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/herd. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on herd

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about herd

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