crowded
Americanadjective
-
filled to excess; packed.
-
filled with a crowd.
crowded streets.
-
uncomfortably close together.
crowded passengers on a bus.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of crowded
Explanation
Places that are crowded are packed with people. During rush hour, you might decide not to get onto a crowded subway car, but wait for the next one, hoping it will be less crowded. Rock concerts are often crowded, and sometimes classrooms are so crowded with students that it makes the teacher's job harder. Tokyo is a crowded city, especially compared to Dubuque, Iowa, and shopping malls generally become crowded on the weekend before Christmas. These places are all crowded with people, but you could also say that a field is crowded with cows or your friend's house is crowded with cats. The Old English root is crudan, "to press."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Crowded positioning, a pause in central-bank buying, an increase in the dollar and a rise in real interest rates all contributed to the 26% peak-to-trough decline in the gold prices.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026
“I believe wholeheartedly that you can’t force revival,” Lucas Miles declares in his stump speech for the Make Heaven Crowded tour.
From Salon • May 17, 2026
Crowded into the ballroom were Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, several cabinet members and top lawmakers, and hundreds of guests in black tie.
From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026
Crowded by a double team, Betts was called for a travel and Southern guard Taniya Lawson converted the turnover into a pull-up jumper on the next possession to move the Jaguars to within 12 points.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2025
Crowded was part of the definition of New York.
From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
