crowd

[ kroud ]

/ kraʊd /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crowd ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

crow-pheasant, crowbait, crowbar, crowberry, crowboot, crowd, crowd pleaser, crowd puller, crowd surf, crowd-pleaser, crowded

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)

SYNONYMS FOR crowd

5 proletariat, plebeians, populace.

8 assemble, herd.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crowd ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formscrowd·er, noun

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

Examples from the Web for crowding

Its sheer size could make the crowding effect less noticeable than in a smaller city.
The NFL’s Super Bowl Con: Hosting the Big Game Isn’t an Economic Score For Cities|Brandy Zadrozny|January 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Due largely to crowding and high housing prices, 45 percent of couples in Hong Kong say they have given up having children.
City Leaders Are in Love With Density but Most City Dwellers Disagree|Joel Kotkin|September 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
To name just a few: a. "Crowding out": the logic of Clintonomics.
Rogoff and Reinhart Respond|Megan McArdle|April 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
To preserve discretionary spending priorities, we must prevent entitlement spending from crowding out all other budgetary options.
Why the Existence of this Obama Budget is a Victory for the Republicans|Justin Green|April 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST

People seem to have a hidden assumption that every house in the District will eventually be crowding $1 million in value.
What Is Going On in The DC Housing Market?|Megan McArdle|September 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
There was now no crowding of men upon either ship; but there was much care to be given to so many scores of wounded.
With the Black Prince|William Osborn Stoddard
Immediately the larger and fiercer dogs fell upon the food, crowding or scaring the smaller curs away from it.
Buff: A Collie and other dog-stories|Albert Payson Terhune
Why, a man's thoughts are like actors performing in the air and all the crowding stars for audience!
The Two Vanrevels|Booth Tarkington
And I have imagined them crowding down to where they may get the first glimpse of His face again.
Quiet Talks on Service|S. D. Gordon
"I hope I am not crowding you," she said in a gracious voice to Ermengarde.
The Children of Wilton Chase|Mrs. L. T. Meade

British Dictionary definitions for crowding (1 of 2)

crowd

/ (kraʊd) /

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 crowd the 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

British Dictionary definitions for crowding (2 of 2)

crowd

/ (kraʊd) /

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

Medicine definitions for crowding

crowding

[ krou′dĭng ]

n.

A condition in which the teeth are crowded in the dental arch, assuming altered positions, as by overlapping and twisting.

Idioms and Phrases with crowding

crowd

see follow the crowd; three's a crowd.

crowd

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of crowd

Synonym study

Usage note

Examples from the Web for crowding

British Dictionary definitions for crowding (1 of 2)

crowd

noun

verb

Word Origin for crowd

British Dictionary definitions for crowding (2 of 2)

crowd

noun

Word Origin for crowd

Medicine definitions for crowding

crowding

n.

Idioms and Phrases with crowding

crowd