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
Each day at the rescue begins before sunrise as volunteers prepare formula and feed the growing herd of young deer. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 16 July 2026 Keep your eyes peeled for the famous herd of Banker horses, thought to be descended from those that survived Spanish shipwrecks 500 years ago. — Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 16 July 2026
Verb
Cattle are herded in a stable on June 05, 2026 in Hamilton, Texas. — Brandon Gomez, CNBC, 2 July 2026 Just after midnight, guests were herded into Grainger Sky Theater with the promise of a surprise. — Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 1 July 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
  • People throughout the country flock to download storefronts like iTunes and streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and others to listen to their favorite patriotic cuts.
    — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
  • Hugh Jackman leads a flock of sheep that end up forced to solve his murder in a small village.
    — Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 17 July 2026
Definition of flock
Noun
  • Their past two victories against Switzerland and Egypt came with the help of controversial calls that had the soccer-watching populace buzzing about potential favoritism toward Argentina.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 14 July 2026
  • Trump’s decision to deploy these soldiers has thoroughly spooked a populace that already distrusts the president.
    — Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026
Definition of populace
Noun
  • That’s why Fox Sports frequently showed the throng of fans in KC celebrating during games.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 17 July 2026
  • Given the throng of big names at Tuesday’s match, there should be no shortage of dignitary shots with Messi in town Wednesday.
    — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 15 July 2026
Definition of throng
Verb
  • To prevent speculation that drives up land price without actual construction, the zoning benefits would be granted only on submission of building-permit applications.
    — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 22 July 2026
  • Real estate has always been driven by connections between buyers and sellers.
    — Heartland MLS®, Kansas City Star, 22 July 2026
Definition of drive
Noun
  • By evening, crowds overflowed outside the site and spilled onto the streets and lanes.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
  • The Tesla Diner is one year old as crowds lined up to charge at the highest-usage Supercharger in the world.
    — Brooke Crothers, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of crowd
Noun
  • The immediate focus is Frenzy 8, a 200-pound-force-thrust engine designed for swarm-class drones, expendable aircraft and other uncrewed defense systems.
    — Carolyn Schwaar, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • That agentic swarm exploited a flaw in Hugging Face’s data-processing pipeline to gain the ability to run code as a processing worker, eventually escalating to high-level access to the company’s cloud and server clusters.
    — Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 22 July 2026
Definition of swarm
Noun
  • Mark Cavendish sprinted to five stage victories, while the French public had something to celebrate about with six stage victories.
    — Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 19 July 2026
  • The two had earned more than $650 million through stock sales since taking the company public and bought two private luxury jets, according to the lawsuit and securities filings.
    — Jordan Rau, NPR, 19 July 2026
Definition of public
Noun
  • This is a real neighborhood with authentic shops and restaurants, removed from the hordes of tourists near the Duomo.
    — Irene S. Levine, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • That year, the number of possible points had changed from two hundred to four hundred, and the newspapers reported that this test had slaughtered hordes of top students.
    — Min Jin Lee, New Yorker, 19 July 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 25 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on herd

Nglish: Translation of herd for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about herd

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