throng
Americannoun
-
throngs
plural
-
a multitude of people crowded or assembled together; crowd.
- Synonyms:
- assemblage, host, horde
-
a great number of things crowded or considered together.
a throng of memories.
-
Chiefly Scot. pressure, as of work.
verb (used without object)
-
throngs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
thronged,
past participle, past
-
thronging
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
throngs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
thronged,
past participle, past
-
thronging
present participle
-
to crowd or press upon; jostle.
-
to fill or occupy with or as with a crowd.
He thronged the picture with stars.
-
to bring or drive together into or as into a crowd, heap, or collection.
-
to fill by crowding or pressing into.
They thronged the small room.
adjective
-
filled with people or objects; crowded.
-
(of time) filled with things to do; busy.
noun
verb
-
to gather in or fill (a place) in large numbers; crowd
-
(tr) to hem in (a person); jostle
adjective
Synonym Usage
See crowd 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
throngsimple
-
throngssimple
-
have throngedperfect
-
has throngedperfect
-
am throngingprogressive
-
are throngingprogressive
-
is throngingprogressive
-
have been throngingperfect progressive
-
has been throngingperfect progressive
Past
-
throngedsimple
-
had throngedperfect
-
was throngingprogressive
-
were throngingprogressive
-
had been throngingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of throng
before 1000; (noun) Middle English; Old English gethrang; cognate with Dutch drang, German Drang pressure, Old Norse thrǫng throng; (adj. and v.) Middle English; akin to the noun; compare obsolete thring to press
Explanation
A throng is a crowd of people or animals. On the crowded platform, the throng of passengers attempted to push their way into the already overcrowded subway car. When used as a noun, throng means a tightly packed crowd of people or animals. As a verb, it means to push together or squeeze into an area. The science fiction movie fans thronged into the auditorium when they heard their favorite actor had entered the building. The word comes to us from the Middle English term meaning "push" or "force one's way," which is exactly what you'd have to do if you got stuck inside a throng of people.
Vocabulary lists containing throng
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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.
See Examples For:
After the formal photo, Burnham got out his phone and took a selfie with the throng, straining to fit them all into one shot.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
In years past, she said in a post on X, women would throng textile stores, giving a discerning touch to the fabric they would purchase for newlyweds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
Uche Okeke memorializes the Aba Women’s War of 1929, one of the first major anticolonial uprisings in Nigeria, with a throng of seething figures, their strength and determination reflected in vigorous brushstrokes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Trying to make my way through the throng of movie stars, filmmakers and other luminaries was almost like an Olympic event.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026
As the swelling throng marched singing into Montgomery, the Voting Rights Act was beginning its own contested journey through the political thickets of Congress.
From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman
As I walked through downtown, I marveled at how the overwhelmingly Gen Z throngs expressed their mexicanidad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
Ants have chemical defences, including the ability to sting in some species, and can recruit throngs of other ants rapidly as backup to overcome potential predators, Narendra explained.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
And there was certainly nothing abnormal about the airport being crowded with throngs of people still in their pajamas ahead of a 7 a.m. flight.
From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2026
It is their first trip to Australia since 2018, when they spent two weeks touring the country as well as New Zealand and Pacific islands in a visit that drew adoring throngs of crowds.
From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026
The camp was now alive and swarming, throngs of men starting to swell together like boils of a plague.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
In the summer, the area is thronged by fishermen drawn to Bristol Bay for the world’s largest sockeye salmon run.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Just months after a previous major storm, cars queued at petrol stations, while residents thronged hardware stores to buy plywood and supermarkets for food, bottled water and other essentials.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Afterward, thousands of giddy fans thronged the malecón, Havana’s seaside promenade, laughing and drinking rum.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
The other recreated a storefront thronged by smiling people moving to Bad Bunny’s beats.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2026
But that didn’t stop the old man and the boy from joining the ten thousand who thronged to the stadium on the boulevard to see the traditional high school football game.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
A week on, the noise and energy have ebbed, giving way to a rare, disquieting calm in a capital usually thronging with 10 million people.
From Barron's ● Mar. 7, 2026
Further evidence of a paradigm shift: Enthusiastic theatergoers thronging to “Malinche the Musical,” the brainchild of Nacho Cano, a Spanish rock star turned impresario.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026
Taken on Saturday, it shows shoppers thronging to similar stalls in a northern suburb of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, while a column of black smoke rises ominously in the background.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025
One of the most chaotic gatherings in the Christian calendar is the ancient ceremony of the “Holy Fire,” with worshipers thronging the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Saturday.
From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2024
She turned back to the ghosts, who were thronging closer and closer.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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.
