crowd

verb

Save Word

\ ˈkrau̇d

crowded; crowding; crowds

Definition of crowd

(Entry 1 of 3)

intransitive verb

1a : to press on : hurry The ships crowded northward.

b : to press close The players crowded around the coach.

2 : to collect in numbers Police officers warned people not to crowd.

transitive verb

1a : to fill by pressing or thronging together crowd a room

b : to press, force, or thrust into a small space crowded the people into the bus

2 : push, force —often used with off or out crowd a person off the sidewalk

3a : to urge on … I crowded him until streams of sweat ran from his beard.— Jesse H. Stuart

b : to put on (sail) in excess of the usual for greater speed

4 : to put pressure on Don't crowd me, I'll pay.

5 : throng, jostle … changes … crowd each other in a whirl of confusing images when we try to picture this century …— Nicholas Murray Butler

6 : to press or stand close to The batter was crowding the plate.

7 : to approach or come close to (an age or amount) a friend who's crowding 70 … a sedan that crowds $100,000 when all the option boxes have been checked.— Jeff Sabatini

crowd

noun (1)

Definition of crowd (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : a large number of persons especially when collected together : throng

2a : the great body of the people : populace

b : most of one's peers follow the crowd

3 : a large number of things close together … I saw a crowd … of golden daffodils …— William Wordsworth

4 : a group of people having something (such as a habit, interest, or occupation) in common in with the wrong crowd the Hollywood crowd

crowd

noun (2)

\ ˈkrau̇d

, ˈkrüd

Definition of crowd (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : an ancient Celtic stringed instrument that is plucked or bowed

— called also crwth

2 dialectal, England : violin

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Phrases Containing crowd Learn More About crowd

Choose the Right Synonym for crowd

Noun (1)

crowd, throng, horde, crush, mob mean an assembled multitude. crowd implies a close gathering and pressing together. a crowd gathered throng and horde suggest movement and pushing. a throng of reporters a horde of shoppers crush emphasizes the compactness of the group, the difficulty of individual movement, and the attendant discomfort. a crush of fans mob implies a disorderly crowd with the potential for violence. an angry mob

Examples of crowd in a Sentence

Verb Boxes crowded the floor of my apartment. There are too many products crowding the market. The club has been accused of crowding too many people into too small a space. By the end of the 10th mile, three bicyclists were crowding the racer in front. Please move back. You're crowding me.

First Known Use of crowd

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun (1)

1565, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for crowd

Verb

Middle English crouden "to push forward, jostle, press, push or drive (something wheeled)," going back to Old English crūdan "to crowd, press (against), press forward (of a ship)," going back to Germanic *krūdan- "to press, push forward" (whence also Middle Dutch crûden "to push, shove, trundle," Norwegian regional kryda (preterit kraud) "to flow together, congregate"), of uncertain origin

Note: Old English crūdan, a Class II strong verb, is attested twice in poetic texts, as crydeþ (third person singular present) and cread (third singular preterit); evidence in other old Germanic languages is lacking. Nominal derivatives *kruda- and *krudan- are evident in Old English lindgecrod "shield-bearing crowd" and lindcroda "shield-press, battle"; the same underlying forms may be evident in Middle Dutch crod "hindrance, bother," Middle High German krot "annoyance, distress," kroten, kröten "to bother, annoy." (Further Frisian and Low German forms are detailed in the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, s.v. crowd.) See also crud entry 2.

Noun (1)

derivative of crowd entry 1

Noun (2)

Middle English crouþ, croude, borrowed from Middle Welsh crwth "crowd (the instrument), fiddle, hump, humpback, anything round or bulging," going back to Celtic *krutto- "round or bulging object" (whence also, from a feminine derivative *kruttā, Welsh croth "womb, belly"; also Middle Irish crott, cruitt "harp, lyre, hump," Middle Breton courz "female genitals"), probably of expressive origin

Note: The word crotta as the name of a musical instrument was used by the sixth century Latin poet and hymnodist Venantius Fortunatus ("… crotta Britanna canat" - "… may the British crotta sing"). The grounds for the shift from th to d in the English word are uncertain.