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crowd¹

(kroud)

1. A large number of persons gathered together; a throng.

2. The common people; the populace.

3. A group of people united by a common characteristic, as age, interest, or vocation: the over-30 crowd.

4. A group of people attending a public function; an audience: The play drew a small but appreciative crowd.

5. A large number of things positioned or considered together.

v. crowd·ed, crowd·ing, crowds

v.intr.

1. To gather together in a limited space: The children crowded around the TV.

2. To move forward by pressing or shoving: A bevy of reporters crowded toward the candidate.

v.tr.

1. To force by pressing or shoving: Police crowded the spectators back to the viewing stand.

2. To force away by taking up space; displace: Urban sprawl crowded the farmers out of the valley.

3. To draw or stand very near or too near to: The batter crowded the plate. Please don't crowd me.

4. To press, cram, or force tightly together: crowded the clothes into the closet.

5. To fill or occupy to overflowing: Books crowded the shelves.

6. Informal To put pressure on; assail: Dark thoughts were crowding him.

Idiom:

crowd (on) sail Nautical

To spread a large amount of sail to increase speed.

[From Middle English crowden, to crowd, press, from Old English crūdan, to hasten, press.]

crowder n.

Synonyms: crowd¹, crush, flock¹, horde, mob, throng
These nouns denote a large group of people gathered close to one another: a crowd of well-wishers; a crush of autograph seekers; a flock of schoolchildren; a horde of demonstrators; a mob of hard-rock enthusiasts; throngs of tourists.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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