flock

[ flok ]

/ flɒk /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR flock

noun

a number of animals of one kind, especially sheep, goats, or birds, that keep or feed together or are herded together.

a large number of people; crowd.

a large group of things: a flock of letters to answer.

(in New Testament and ecclesiastical use)

the Christian church in relation to Christ.
a single congregation in relation to its pastor.

Archaic. a band or company of persons.

verb (used without object)

to gather or go in a flock or crowd: They flocked around the football hero.

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Origin of flock

First recorded before 1000; (noun) Middle English; Old English floc; cognate with Old Norse flokkr; (verb) Middle English, derivative of the noun

SYNONYMS FOR flock

1, 2 bevy, covey, flight, gaggle; brood, hatch, litter; shoal, school, swarm, group, company.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR flock

synonym study for flock

1, 2. Flock, drove, herd, pack refer to a company of animals, often under the care or guidance of someone. Flock is the popular term, which applies to groups of animals, especially of sheep or goats, and companies of birds: This lamb is the choicest of the flock. A flock of wild geese flew overhead. Drove is especially applied to a number of oxen, sheep, or swine when driven in a group: A drove of oxen was taken to market. A large drove of swine filled the roadway. Herd is usually applied to large animals such as cattle, originally meaning those under the charge of someone; but by extension, to other animals feeding or driven together: a buffalo herd; a herd of elephants. Pack applies to a number of animals kept together or keeping together for offense or defense: a pack of hounds kept for hunting; a pack of wolves. As applied to people, drove, herd, and pack carry a contemptuous implication.

grammar notes for flock

See collective noun.

OTHER WORDS FROM flock

flockless, adjective

Words nearby flock

floccule, flocculent, flocculent precipitate, flocculus, floccus, flock, flockbed, flock dot, flocking, flock paper, flocky

Definition for flock (2 of 2)

flock²

[ flok ]

/ flɒk /

noun

a lock or tuft of wool, hair, cotton, etc.

(sometimes used with a plural verb) wool refuse, shearings of cloth, old cloth torn to pieces, or the like, for upholstering furniture, stuffing mattresses, etc.

Also called flocking. (sometimes used with a plural verb) finely powdered wool, cloth, etc., used for producing a velvetlike pattern on wallpaper or cloth or for coating metal.

floc (def. 1).

verb (used with object)

to stuff with flock, as a mattress.

to decorate or coat with flock, as wallpaper, cloth, or metal.

Origin of flock

1250–1300; Middle English flok<Old French floc<Latin floccusfloccus. Compare Old High German floccho

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for flock

Later, she won a new flock of fans as BFF Lilly in “The Princess Diaries” movies, as well.
For Heather Matarazzo, ‘Equal’ is still a cause worth fighting for|John Paul King|October 20, 2020|Washington Blade
A flock of birds is kind of a canonical example of self-organization.
Complexity Scientist Beats Traffic Jams Through Adaptation|Rodrigo Pérez Ortega|September 28, 2020|Quanta Magazine
On Monday, a flock of tech companies decided it was time to make their plans to go public, well, public, as tech stocks have soared during the pandemic.
As VC payday nears, Sequoia sits in the middle of the IPO deluge|Lucinda Shen|August 25, 2020|Fortune
When the duo surveyed singles about the personality traits they were looking for in romantic partners, they found that a similarity model—the age-old idea that birds of a feather flock together—best described the data.
Your Romantic Ideals Don’t Predict Who Your Future Partner Will Be - Issue 88: Love & Sex|Alice Fleerackers|August 5, 2020|Nautilus

One of the yeomen warders, known as the ravenmaster, is also responsible for looking after the tower’s resident flock of ravens.
Guarding Britain’s crown jewels was a secure job for over 500 years. Not anymore|Jeremy Kahn|July 20, 2020|Fortune
Behind him stood a flock of fifth-grade boys—and two second-grade girls—all of them wearing the exact same yellow hat.
Even Grade School Kids Are Protesting the Garner Killing Now|Caitlin Dickson|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fans of the series will flock to see ‘Mockingjay’ this Thanksgiving weekend.
Team Peeta or Team Gale: Why the ‘Hunger Games’ Love Triangle Ruins ‘Mockingjay – Part 1’|Kevin Fallon|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He is to be admired for his kindness and genuine pastoral concern for all the members of his flock.
Pope Francis Pushes the Church Another Step Further on Gays|Gene Robinson|October 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They take you to this big window and you look down at all these people in suits and ties and say, “This is your flock.”
Tom Sizemore’s Revenge: On Tom Cruise’s Scientology Recruitment, Drugs, and Craving a Comeback|Marlow Stern|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tavi already has a flock of online fans as a popular fashion blogger and editor of the online magazine Rookie.
Fall Broadway Preview: 'This Is Our Youth,' Bradley Cooper as ‘The Elephant Man,' and More|Janice Kaplan|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hearing the report of our guns, the flock flew towards the wood for shelter.
Snow Shoes and Canoes|William H. G. Kingston
A neighbor of his told me he had seen a flock of fifteen or twenty pigeons on a foggy morning only a few days before.
The Passenger Pigeon|Various
Sorrow is the flock of sparrows which remains behind, and builds in the nests of the birds of passage.
The True Story of My Life|Hans Christian Andersen
But she felt always that he remembered her old hostility, and that he still considered her a mere disaffected Indian of his flock.
The Penance of Magdalena and Other Tales of the California Missions|J. Smeaton Chase
The man that marries my Fan has got to have sabe enough to round up a flock of goats—and wit enough to get up in the morning.
They of the High Trails|Hamlin Garland

British Dictionary definitions for flock (1 of 2)

flock¹

/ (flɒk) /

noun (sometimes functioning as plural)

a group of animals of one kind, esp sheep or birds

a large number of people; crowd

a body of Christians regarded as the pastoral charge of a priest, a bishop, the pope, etc

rare a band of people; group

verb (intr)

to gather together or move in a flock

to go in large numberspeople flocked to the church

Word Origin for flock

Old English flocc; related to Old Norse flokkr crowd, Middle Low German vlocke

British Dictionary definitions for flock (2 of 2)

flock²

/ (flɒk) /

noun

a tuft, as of wool, hair, cotton, etc

waste from fabrics such as cotton, wool, or other cloth used for stuffing mattresses, upholstered chairs, etc
(as modifier)flock mattress

very small tufts of wool applied to fabrics, wallpaper, etc, to give a raised pattern

another word for floccule

verb

(tr) to fill, cover, or ornament with flock

Derived forms of flock

flocky, adjective

Word Origin for flock

C13: from Old French floc, from Latin floccus; probably related to Old High German floccho down, Norwegian flugsa snowflake

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

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