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swarm

1
[ swawrm ]
/ swɔrm /
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See synonyms for: swarm / swarmed / swarming / swarmer on Thesaurus.com

noun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
to swarm about, over, or in; throng; overrun.
to produce a swarm of.
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Origin of swarm

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English swearm; cognate with German Schwarm swarm, Old Norse svarmr “tumult”; the verb is derivative of the noun

synonym study for swarm

3. See crowd1.

OTHER WORDS FROM swarm

swarmer, noun

Other definitions for swarm (2 of 2)

swarm2
[ swawrm ]
/ swɔrm /

verb (used with or without object)
to climb by clasping with the legs and hands or arms and drawing oneself up; shin.

Origin of swarm

2
First recorded in 1540–50; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use swarm in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for swarm (1 of 2)

swarm1
/ (swɔːm) /

noun
a group of social insects, esp bees led by a queen, that has left the parent hive in order to start a new colony
a large mass of small animals, esp insects
a throng or mass, esp when moving or in turmoil
verb

Word Origin for swarm

Old English swearm; related to Old Norse svarmr uproar, Old High German swaram swarm

British Dictionary definitions for swarm (2 of 2)

swarm2
/ (swɔːm) /

verb
(when intr, usually foll by up) to climb (a ladder, etc) by gripping with the hands and feetthe boys swarmed up the rigging

Word Origin for swarm

C16: of unknown origin
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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