crowd

1 of 3

verb

crowded; crowding; crowds

intransitive verb

1
a
: to press on : hurry
The ships crowded northward.
b
: to press close
The players crowded around the coach.
2
: to collect in numbers
Police officers warned people not to crowd.

transitive verb

1
a
: to fill by pressing or thronging together
crowd a room
b
: to press, force, or thrust into a small space
crowded the people into the bus
2
: push, force
often used with off or out
crowd a person off the sidewalk
3
a
: to urge on
… I crowded him until streams of sweat ran from his beard.Jesse H. Stuart
b
: to put on (sail) in excess of the usual for greater speed
4
: to put pressure on
Don't crowd me, I'll pay.
5
: throng, jostle
… changes … crowd each other in a whirl of confusing images when we try to picture this century …Nicholas Murray Butler
6
: to press or stand close to
The batter was crowding the plate.
7
: to approach or come close to (an age or amount)
a friend who's crowding 70
… a sedan that crowds $100,000 when all the option boxes have been checked.Jeff Sabatini

crowd

2 of 3

noun (1)

1
: a large number of persons especially when collected together : throng
2
a
: the great body of the people : populace
b
: most of one's peers
follow the crowd
3
: a large number of things close together
… I saw a crowd … of golden daffodils …William Wordsworth
4
: a group of people having something (such as a habit, interest, or occupation) in common
in with the wrong crowd
the Hollywood crowd
1
: an ancient Celtic stringed instrument that is plucked or bowed

called also crwth

2
dialectal, England : violin

Illustration of crowd

Illustration of crowd
  • 3crowd 1
Choose the Right Synonym for crowd

crowd, throng, horde, crush, mob mean an assembled multitude.

crowd implies a close gathering and pressing together.

a crowd gathered

throng and horde suggest movement and pushing.

a throng of reporters
a horde of shoppers

crush emphasizes the compactness of the group, the difficulty of individual movement, and the attendant discomfort.

a crush of fans

mob implies a disorderly crowd with the potential for violence.

an angry mob

Examples of crowd in a Sentence

Verb Boxes crowded the floor of my apartment. There are too many products crowding the market. The club has been accused of crowding too many people into too small a space. By the end of the 10th mile, three bicyclists were crowding the racer in front. Please move back. You're crowding me.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
In one photo, a bunch of teens crowd into the frame, in which somebody’s giant boom box takes pride of place. Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024 Tourists crowd the narrow, quaint streets of the area called Gion, often following tour guides who show people around and lecture for long hours, local district official Isokazu Ota said Friday. Yuri Kageyama, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2024 Around 40 of Peláez's neighbors crowd around, nodding in agreement. Emily Green, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024 City leaders have defended their strategies as a response to the overwhelming crowds and unruliness that comes with so many young visitors crowding into the barrier island. Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2024 In-home euthanasia can be easier on animals and their owners than office appointments with other sick animals and their distressed owners crowded around. Justin Wm. Moyer, Washington Post, 29 Feb. 2024 During Ohtani’s postgame news conference, the several dozen reporters were crowded so tightly in front of him that the session was interrupted when a photographer loudly crashed down from his stool. Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2024 Hundreds of people crowded Bradford Beach New Year's Day at noon and rang in 2024 by running into the chilly waters of Lake Michigan. Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024 The gang crowded around to make sure everybody fit in the frame and made their best funny faces with Aunt KoKo. Friends and fans alike flooded The Kardashians star's comment section gushing over the family photo. Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 22 Feb. 2024
Noun
Three more Northfield buckets later, the score is 39-29 at halftime and the Nighthawks crowd is back in this. Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2024 The entire crowd got to their feet for the performance, which ended with fireworks. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2024 Outside, crowds failed to be muted by the March drizzle, though VIP guests were given escorts with purple umbrellas. Patrick Frater, Variety, 10 Mar. 2024 The Beastie Boys were an unlikely choice for the opening slot, resulting in a lot of booing crowds and overwhelmingly negative press. Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 9 Mar. 2024 But the vibes and crowd were surprisingly different at this year’s meeting, which was held at the University of Texas at Austin in February. Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024 Surrounded by campaign signs of Democrats past and present in the state party’s downtown headquarters, Harris encouraged a crowd of about 50 Democrats to engage other potential voters in a state that could prove critical to the Biden-Harris reelection effort. Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2024 This devoted crowd would likely have preferred to see Madonna drop the gimmickry to perform one of her biggest hits in person. Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024 Cajun recipes are often sturdy enough to be scaled up to feed a crowd, or straightforward enough to be cooked outdoors (like a crawfish boil); fancier Creole dishes benefit from a more delicate touch. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crowd.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English crouden "to push forward, jostle, press, push or drive (something wheeled)," going back to Old English crūdan "to crowd, press (against), press forward (of a ship)," going back to Germanic *krūdan- "to press, push forward" (whence also Middle Dutch crûden "to push, shove, trundle," Norwegian regional kryda (preterit kraud) "to flow together, congregate"), of uncertain origin

Note: Old English crūdan, a Class II strong verb, is attested twice in poetic texts, as crydeþ (third person singular present) and cread (third singular preterit); evidence in other old Germanic languages is lacking. Nominal derivatives *kruda- and *krudan- are evident in Old English lindgecrod "shield-bearing crowd" and lindcroda "shield-press, battle"; the same underlying forms may be evident in Middle Dutch crod "hindrance, bother," Middle High German krot "annoyance, distress," kroten, kröten "to bother, annoy." (Further Frisian and Low German forms are detailed in the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, s.v. crowd.) See also crud entry 2.

Noun (1)

derivative of crowd entry 1

Noun (2)

Middle English crouþ, croude, borrowed from Middle Welsh crwth "crowd (the instrument), fiddle, hump, humpback, anything round or bulging," going back to Celtic *krutto- "round or bulging object" (whence also, from a feminine derivative *kruttā, Welsh croth "womb, belly"; also Middle Irish crott, cruitt "harp, lyre, hump," Middle Breton courz "female genitals"), probably of expressive origin

Note: The word crotta as the name of a musical instrument was used by the sixth century Latin poet and hymnodist Venantius Fortunatus ("… crotta Britanna canat" - "… may the British crotta sing"). The grounds for the shift from th to d in the English word are uncertain.

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun (1)

1565, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of crowd was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near crowd

Cite this Entry

“Crowd.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crowd. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

crowd

1 of 2 verb
1
: to press forward or close
crowd into an elevator
2
: to push or press into a small space
crowd coats into a closet
3
: to fill or pack by pressing together
cars crowded the roads
4
: to push or force by or as if by a crowd
we were crowded off the sidewalk

crowd

2 of 2 noun
1
: a large number of persons or things crowded or crowding together
2
: the population as a whole : ordinary people
books that appeal to the crowd
3
: a large number of things close together
4
: a group of people having a common interest

More from Merriam-Webster on crowd

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