crowd

I. verb Etymology: Middle English crouden, from Old English crūdan; akin to Middle High German kroten to crowd, Old English crod multitude, Middle Irish gruth curds Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. a. to press on ; hurry b. to press close <

the players crowded around the coach

> 2. to collect in numbers transitive verb 1. a. to fill by pressing or thronging together <

a room crowded with children

> b. to press, force, or thrust into a small space 2. push, force — often used with off or out <

crowd a person off the sidewalk

> 3. a. to urge on 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 6. to press or stand close to <

the batter was crowding the plate

> II. noun Date: 1565 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 (as a habit, interest, or occupation) in common <

in with the wrong crowd

> <

the Hollywood crowd

> Synonyms: crowd, throng, crush, mob, horde mean an assembled multitude usually of people. crowd implies a close gathering and pressing together <

a small crowd gathered

>. throng strongly suggests movement and pushing <

a throng of reporters

>. 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 outside the jail

>. horde suggests a rushing or tumultuous crowd <

a horde of shoppers

>. III. noun Etymology: Middle English crowde, from Middle Welsh crwth Date: 14th century 1. an ancient Celtic stringed instrument that is plucked or bowed — called also crwth 2. dialect England violin