crowd

¹ American  

[kraud] / kraʊd /

noun

1. a large number of persons gathered closely together; throng.

   a crowd of angry people.

2. any large number of persons.

3. any group or set of persons with something in common.

   The restaurant attracts a theater crowd.

4. audience; attendance.

   Opening night drew a good crowd.

5. the common people; the masses.

   He feels superior to the crowd.

   Synonyms:

   populace, plebeians, proletariat

6. a large number of things gathered or considered together.

7. Sociology. a temporary gathering of people responding to common stimuli and engaged in any of various forms of collective behavior.

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verb (used without object)

• crowds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• crowded,
  past participle,  past
• crowding
  present participle

1. to gather in large numbers; throng; swarm.

   Synonyms:

   thrust, drive, herd, assemble

2. to press forward; advance by pushing.

verb (used with object)

• crowds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• crowded,
  past participle,  past
• crowding
  present participle

1. to press closely together; force into a confined space; cram.

   to crowd clothes into a suitcase.

2. to push; shove.

3. to fill to excess; fill by pressing or thronging into.

4. to place under pressure or stress by constant solicitation.

   to crowd a debtor for payment; to crowd someone with embarrassing questions.

idioms

1. crowd on sail, to carry a press of sail.

crowd ² American  

[kraud] / kraʊd /

Also crwth

noun

Music.

1. an ancient Celtic musical instrument with the strings stretched over a rectangular frame, played with a bow.

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crowd ¹ British  

/ kraʊd /

noun

1. a large number of things or people gathered or considered together

2. a particular group of people, esp considered as a social or business set

   the crowd from the office

3. 1. the common people; the masses

   2. ( as modifier )

      crowd ideas

4. to conform with the majority

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verb

1. (intr) to gather together in large numbers; throng

2. (tr) to press together into a confined space

3. (tr) to fill to excess; fill by pushing into

4. informal (tr) to urge or harass by urging

5. nautical to hoist as much sail as possible

crowd ² British  

/ kraʊd /

noun

1. music an ancient bowed stringed instrument; crwth

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crowd More Idioms  

1. see follow the crowd; three's a crowd.

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Grammar

See collective noun.

Usage

What is a basic definition of crowd? A crowd is a large group of people or an audience. Crowd also means to cram closely together. Crowd has several other senses as a noun and a verb. The word crowd can be used to describe any large group of people. Often, crowd is used to specifically mean that the people are standing close together. If a location has a large number of people in a small area, it is said to be crowded.

• Real-life examples: A protest often involves a crowd of angry people. Crowds are often broken up when they get too large and unruly. You are very likely to see huge crowds in large cities like Los Angeles or in popular amusement parks like Disney World.
• Used in a sentence: My sister got lost in the crowd of businesspeople boarding the subway car. 

In this sense, crowd is used as a verb to mean to gather together in large numbers.

• Used in a sentence: We crowded around the trained monkey to watch it dance. 

Crowd is also used to mean an audience, even if not many people are in the audience.

• Real-life examples: Musicians, circus performers, actors, and comedians perform in front of a crowd. Politicians often give speeches to a crowd. Every producer wants to attract a large crowd to a show so they make more money.
• Used in a sentence: She received a standing ovation from the crowd. 

Crowd can also specifically mean a group of people who have something in common.

• Used in a sentence: I don’t really fit in with this artsy crowd. 

As a verb, crowd means to pack or cram closely together in a tight space.

• Used in a sentence: Twelve clowns crowded into the tiny car.

Synonym Usage

Crowd, multitude, swarm, throng refer to large numbers of people. Crowd suggests a jostling, uncomfortable, and possibly disorderly company: A crowd gathered to listen to the speech. Multitude emphasizes the great number of persons or things but suggests that there is space enough for all: a multitude of people at the market on Saturdays. Swarm as used of people is usually contemptuous, suggesting a moving, restless, often noisy, crowd: A swarm of dirty children played in the street. Throng suggests a company that presses together or forward, often with some common aim: The throng pushed forward to see the cause of the excitement.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• crowdedness
  noun
• crowder
  noun
• crowded
  adjective
• crowdedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• crowding
  present
• crowded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• crowd
  simple
• crowds
  simple
• have crowded
  perfect
• has crowded
  perfect
• am crowding
  progressive
• are crowding
  progressive
• is crowding
  progressive
• have been crowding
  perfect progressive
• has been crowding
  perfect progressive

Past

• crowded
  simple
• had crowded
  perfect
• was crowding
  progressive
• were crowding
  progressive
• had been crowding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will crowd
  simple
• will have crowded
  perfect
• will be crowding
  progressive
• will have been crowding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of crowd¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English verb crouden, cruden, croden, Old English crūdan, crēodan “to press, hurry”; cognate with Middle Dutch crūden “to push,” Middle Low German krūden to annoy”

Origin of crowd²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English croud, crouth, from Welsh crwth; see also crwth

Explanation

A lot of people or things in a large group make up a crowd. The masses of performers with painted faces, big shoes, and squeaky noses filling up the streets during your town's annual clown parade can be described as a crowd of clowns. A crowd of people might gather for a party, concert, or demonstration, with the word crowd implying that there's something a little disorderly — noisy or unruly — about the group. Crowd can also mean "the mass of ordinary people," which is the way you're using the word when you say you want to "stand out from the crowd." You want to be seen as a distinct, individual person, rather than part of a larger mass of regular folks.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crowd crowds crowded crowding

"You can really feel the warmth in Taiwanese society," said Feng Jing-heng, 70, who was in the crowd watching the military parade and dance performances.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026

Guardiola could not help but lift six fingers up to the Liverpool crowd in response - representing the six Premier League titles he won with City.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Incumbents should look to consolidate to crowd out the risk, they say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The closeted kid who felt empowered to come out during their showcase monologue, only to receive uproarious applause from the crowd.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

“Whenever you’re ready,” her moshom said, then backed away, leaving her pretty much in front of the crowd, standing near the mic.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

The ensuing camera shots—we all know the vocabulary—tell us that the three of them are being surveilled from above and followed at street level into the L.A. crowds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

A few months later, a different judge found that the department had violated previous court restrictions by using projectile weapons to disperse crowds at protests against immigration enforcement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

We’ve also noticed several ads in which AI was used to generate crowds or constituents.

From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2026

The Asian Games in Japan will close later Sunday after a fortnight of record-smashing displays from young stars, but marred by mix-ups, patchy crowds and accusations of mismanagement.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

This occasion famously ended in a near riot as crowds swept into the White House for punch and ice cream, overturning tables in the frenzied rush.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

More CMOs are beginning to realize how much monikers can matter in a crowded marketplace, according to Barrett.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

As the rest of the market wobbled, investors crowded back into tech.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

When Vivienne Dawes first saw the photograph of herself dancing on a crowded dance floor almost 50 years ago, it felt like being transported back in time.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

Where particles are more crowded, they are more likely to meet and form hydrogen.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026

That generated plenty of oohs and ahhs, and people crowded around him with questions about his trip.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

I showed up not long after doors opened and was greeted by two lengthy lines of well-dressed people crowding the block, tittering with expectation, interacting with myriad Ramp employees identifiable by those yellow lanyards.

From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026

Actor D’Arcy Carden stopped by early, beating the cadre of guests crowding the main plaza beneath the now-famous oculus of the 300,000-square-foot Ma Yansong-designed building.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

“There is very little crowding risk embedded in the current sector leadership, and little dry powder being unwound against it,” they say.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

They encouraged her to participate in the progressive causes of the era, most importantly helping the thousands of Eastern European immigrants then crowding into the Midwest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Olanna moved back; the tumultuous crowding of pain and thoughts and anger that shot through her made the words flow out of her mouth with quiet precision.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

• cluster
• congest
• congregate
• deluge
• flock
• gather
• huddle
• overcrowd
• pack
• pile
• squeeze
• stream
• swamp
• swarm
• throng