as in throngs
a great number of persons or creatures massed together
a swarm of tourists descends upon the island every summer
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in climbs
to move (as up or over something) often with the help of the hands in holding or pulling
one of the physical challenges had competitors swarming over a pile of logs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of swarms
ABC News, 13 June 2026
More than four years since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the more than 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line has remained largely static as swarms of drones hinder advances.
—CBS News, 13 June 2026
The drivers themselves wrestle their way through the crowds and fend off swarms of iPhone-wielding fans to convene with their race teams ahead of the Grand Prix.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 12 June 2026
Imagine combat choreographed by ants, swarms of elbows and legs scrabbling to emerge victorious.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
But even more tumultuous were the summer 1979 shooting days on location in Manhattan, where swarms of protesters regularly interrupted production.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 June 2026
The government has a program to breed sterile male flies and drop swarms of them from planes to mate with wild females, which kept screwworm contained at the southern end of Panama for decades.
—Jeffrey Collins, Fortune, 9 June 2026
Beyond agriculture, the approach could find applications in warehouse robotics, environmental monitoring, industrial inspection, and future drone swarms.
—New Atlas, 8 June 2026
Navy fleets could deploy cooperative drone swarms to sweep for hazards without exposing humans to danger.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 1 June 2026
Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 8 June 2026
Washington swarms with health specialists.
—Literary Hub, 23 Mar. 2026
The unapologetically lurid tale of two families locked in an ever-complex cat’s cradle of class resentments and adulterous power plays also swarms with queen bees and jaw-droppingly muscular men that feel straight out of the Real Housewives playbook.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026
Launching swarms mid-air The aircraft was publicly displayed for the first time at Airshow China in Zhuhai in 2024, where Chinese broadcasters highlighted its potential military functions.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 11 Dec. 2025
In the 13-second video, Cynthia Erivo pulls him off the pop star before security swarms him.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2025
Noun
More than four years since the start of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine, the more than 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line has remained largely static as swarms of drones hinder advances.
—ABC News, 13 June 2026
More than four years since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the more than 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line has remained largely static as swarms of drones hinder advances.
—CBS News, 13 June 2026
The drivers themselves wrestle their way through the crowds and fend off swarms of iPhone-wielding fans to convene with their race teams ahead of the Grand Prix.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 12 June 2026
Imagine combat choreographed by ants, swarms of elbows and legs scrabbling to emerge victorious.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
But even more tumultuous were the summer 1979 shooting days on location in Manhattan, where swarms of protesters regularly interrupted production.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 June 2026
The government has a program to breed sterile male flies and drop swarms of them from planes to mate with wild females, which kept screwworm contained at the southern end of Panama for decades.
—Jeffrey Collins, Fortune, 9 June 2026
Beyond agriculture, the approach could find applications in warehouse robotics, environmental monitoring, industrial inspection, and future drone swarms.
—New Atlas, 8 June 2026
Navy fleets could deploy cooperative drone swarms to sweep for hazards without exposing humans to danger.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 1 June 2026
Verb
On the opposite corner, a herd of schoolchildren swarms a local television reporter.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 8 June 2026
Washington swarms with health specialists.
—Literary Hub, 23 Mar. 2026
The unapologetically lurid tale of two families locked in an ever-complex cat’s cradle of class resentments and adulterous power plays also swarms with queen bees and jaw-droppingly muscular men that feel straight out of the Real Housewives playbook.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026
Launching swarms mid-air The aircraft was publicly displayed for the first time at Airshow China in Zhuhai in 2024, where Chinese broadcasters highlighted its potential military functions.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 11 Dec. 2025
In the 13-second video, Cynthia Erivo pulls him off the pop star before security swarms him.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swarms
Noun
-
After the final buzzer confirmed the Knicks' 94-90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs at Texas' Frost Bank Center on Saturday, June 13, throngs of people sporting blue and orange flocked to the streets of all five boroughs.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
14 June 2026
-
Friday’s watch party attracted throngs of revelers to MSG, but also brought some chaos to Midtown, with 26 people arrested for a variety of offenses, from assault to selling counterfeit merchandise to climbing on top of light poles, food vendor carts and subway entrances.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
Just as the pair were celebrating finally taking Evan off-island for father-son bonding time on the mainland, a knock on the door bursts their bubble.—
Benjamin VanHoose,
PEOPLE,
3 June 2026
-
Haaland bursts our bubble almost immediately by scoring in the opening five minutes, and Burnley miss a few good first-half chances, with striker Zian Flemming particularly culpable.—
Nnamdi Onyeagwara,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The lab is now investigating whether the same lysosomal dysfunction in old stem cells plays a role in leukemia, a disease whose incidence climbs sharply with age.—
Allison Palmer,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 June 2026
-
Cybernews found that 59% of workers regularly use AI their company never approved, and among executives and senior managers that number climbs to 93%.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
Noun
-
Kai Cenat's Streamer University program went awry after hordes of people crowded an audition site in Atlanta, Georgia, leading to several arrests, according to police.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
-
Dating apps are full of horror stories where hordes of men act creepily toward the female population.—
Jordan Minor,
PC Magazine,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
Every point results in cheers and car horns– and on the eve of their past three wins, the city buzzes with a passion that’s simply irresistible, even for the bandwagon fans.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
-
The machine quietly buzzes and whizzes next to baristas who pull espresso shots.—
Jenna Thompson
June 10,
Kansas City Star,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Chris Moltisanti flipped right before his death As Tony's crew and friend circle starts to shrink as the show goes on, our panic attack-prone paisan becomes increasingly paranoid and scrambles to find a successor.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
10 June 2026
-
The 11th-hour maneuver scrambles the upcoming Democratic primary that features two Democratic state senators.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
The folks in the national sports media sometimes move like lemmings, all following each other — able to suddenly turn in perfect unison and head in the same direction, like flocks of birds.—
Greg Cote
June 17,
Miami Herald,
17 June 2026
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Brands including Cult Gaia, Alo, Same Swim, and La DoubleJ are opening stores in either the South of France or along the Italian coastline ahead of the 2026 season, in a bid to capture the flocks of tourists who visit these hotspots and are keen to splurge without breaking the bank.—
Madeleine Schulz,
Vogue,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
His colleague, a newly qualified environmental engineer, clambers up onto the backseat.—
Sabrina Weiss,
The Dial,
23 Sep. 2025
-
Joe, glowering, stalks off through the crowd, clambers into his vehicle, and drives off.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swarms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swarms. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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