crowded

[krou-did]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crowded ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

filled to excess; packed.

filled with a crowd: crowded streets.

uncomfortably close together: crowded passengers on a bus.

Origin of crowded

First recorded in 1605–15; crowd¹ + -ed²

Related formscrowd·ed·ly, adverbo·ver·crowd·ed, adjectiveo·ver·crowd·ed·ly, adverbo·ver·crowd·ed·ness, nounun·crowd·ed, adjective

crowd

[kroud]

noun

a large number of persons gathered closely together; throng: a crowd of angry people.

any large number of persons.

any group or set of persons with something in common: The restaurant attracts a theater crowd.

audience; attendance: Opening night drew a good crowd.

the common people; the masses: He feels superior to the crowd.

a large number of things gathered or considered together.

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

verb (used without object)

to gather in large numbers; throng; swarm.

to press forward; advance by pushing.

verb (used with object)

to press closely together; force into a confined space; cram: to crowd clothes into a suitcase.

to push; shove.

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

to place under pressure or stress by constant solicitation: to crowd a debtor for payment; to crowd someone with embarrassing questions.

Idioms

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

Origin of crowd

before 950; Middle English crowden, Old English crūden to press, hurry; cognate with Middle Dutch crūden to push (Dutch kruien)

Related formscrowd·er, noun

Synonyms for crowd

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crowd ON THESAURUS.COM

5. proletariat, plebeians, populace. 8. assemble, herd.

Synonym study

1. 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.

Usage note

See collective noun.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for crowded

full, teeming, cramped, jammed, loaded, populous, packed, jam-packed, compact, clean, brimming, overflowing, stuffed, close, mobbed, crammed, crushed, massed, chock-full

Examples from the Web for crowded

Contemporary Examples of crowded

When it became too crowded, they moved her into an open casket on the street.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion
Nina Strochlic
January 8, 2015
Then the commercial weight loss behemoths Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig joined this crowded field.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail
Carrie Arnold
December 30, 2014
On Wednesday, two young female suicide bombers detonated in a crowded market in Kano State.
The New Face of Boko Haram’s Terror: Teen Girls
Nina Strochlic
December 13, 2014
“People feel that these crowded areas play to their advantage—it provides this sense of a cover,” he said.
How to Get Away With Stealing $2 Million in Jewelry in the Heart of New York
John Surico
November 13, 2014
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Half a dozen men sit on the floor in a grimy rented storefront in the crowded Khyber Bazaar.
Obama’s Deadly Informants: The Drone Spotters of Pakistan
Umar Farooq, Syed Fakhar Kakakhel
November 12, 2014

Historical Examples of crowded

After the boats were crowded, they would hold on to them so that they could not leave the shore.
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
The afternoon is far advanced—the parks and public drives are crowded.
Sunday under Three Heads
Charles Dickens
Persons of every class are crowded together, here, in one dense mass.
Sunday under Three Heads
Charles Dickens
But when this mound was built there were towns here, busy and crowded.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
It only needed a beginning, and the penitent bench would be crowded.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr

British Dictionary definitions for crowded

crowd

noun

a large number of things or people gathered or considered together

a particular group of people, esp considered as a social or business setthe crowd from the office

the crowdthe common people; the masses
(as modifier)crowd ideas

follow the crowd to conform with the majority

verb

(intr) to gather together in large numbers; throng

(tr) to press together into a confined space

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

(tr) informal to urge or harass by urging

crowd on sail nautical to hoist as much sail as possible

Derived Formscrowded, adjectivecrowdedly, adverbcrowdedness, nouncrowder, noun

Word Origin for crowd

Old English crūdan; related to Middle Low German krūden to molest, Middle Dutch crūden to push, Norwegian kryda to swarm

crowd

noun

music an ancient bowed stringed instrument; crwth

Word Origin for crowd

C13: from Welsh crwth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for crowded

crowd

Old English crudan "to press, crush." Cognate with Middle Dutch cruden "to press, push," Middle High German kroten "to press, oppress," Norwegian kryda "to crowd." Related: Crowded; crowding.

crowd

1560s, from crowd (v.). The earlier word was press (n.).

Idioms and Phrases with crowded

crowd

see follow the crowd; three's a crowd.