I. crowd 1 S3 W2 /kraʊd/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ crowd , ↑ overcrowding ; adjective : ↑ crowded , ↑ overcrowded ; verb : ↑ crowd ]
1 . [countable] a large group of people who have gathered together to do something, for example to watch something or protest about something
crowd of
a crowd of angry protesters
a crowd of 30,000 spectators
There were crowds of shoppers in the street.
A vast crowd gathered in the main square.
She mingled with the crowd of guests, exchanging greetings.
Saturday’s game was watched by a capacity crowd (=the maximum number of people that a sports ground etc can hold) .
Troops fired tear gas and shots to disperse a crowd of 15,000 demonstrators.
2 . [singular] informal a group of people who know each other, work together etc:
I didn’t know him; he wasn’t one of the usual crowd.
3 . the crowd ordinary people, not unusual in any way:
You have to do things exceptionally well to stand out from the crowd (=be different from ordinary people) .
He wanted to go unnoticed, to be one of the crowd.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ a crowd gathers
A large crowd had gathered to watch the procession go past.
▪ a crowd cheers (=shouts to show praise, support etc)
The crowd cheered as the team came onto the pitch.
▪ a crowd roars (=shouts in a very excited way)
As the band appeared the crowd roared in approval.
▪ a crowd surges forward (=moves forward all together)
Police officers began to lose control and the crowd surged forward.
▪ a crowd disperses/breaks up (=goes away in different directions)
Seeing there would be no more entertainment, the crowd began to disperse.
▪ a crowd lines the street/route etc
A crowd lined the street to catch a glimpse of the president.
▪ attract/draw a crowd
The ceremony is expected to draw a crowd of more than 1,000.
▪ pull a crowd/pull in the crowds (=make a lot of people come to something)
Low prices always pull in the crowds.
▪ disperse/break up a crowd (=make a crowd go away in different directions)
A few warning shots were fired in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
▪ mingle/mix with the crowd (=join a crowd to be social or in order not to be noticed)
The actors went outside to talk to and mingle with the crowd.
■ adjectives
▪ a big/large/huge crowd
A big crowd is expected tomorrow for the final match.
▪ a good crowd (=a big one)
There was a good crowd on the first night of the show.
▪ a capacity crowd (=the maximum number of people that a place can hold)
The band performed brilliantly to a capacity crowd.
▪ a sellout crowd (=one that has bought all the tickets for something)
The team won in front of a sellout crowd of 17,765.
▪ a record crowd (=the biggest one there has ever been)
They were playing before a record crowd of 50,000.
▪ a bumper crowd (=a very big one)
As usual there was a bumper crowd at the festival.
■ phrases
▪ a crowd of people
I pushed my way through the crowd of people.
▪ a crowd of onlookers (=of people who stop to watch something that is happening)
A crowd of onlookers had gathered to see what all the fuss was about.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ crowd a large number of people together in one place:
The exhibition is expected to attract large crowds of visitors.
▪ mob a crowd of noisy and violent people who are difficult to control:
The mob set fire to cars and buildings.
▪ mass a very large crowd which is not moving and which is very difficult to move through:
the mass of people in the station
▪ horde a large crowd of people, especially people who are behaving in a way that you disapprove of or that annoys you:
the hordes of tourists on the island
▪ droves [plural] a crowd of people – used especially when you are talking about a crowd of people who move from one place to another:
The public came in droves to see the event.
▪ throng literary a very large crowd:
A great throng had gathered to listen to his speech.
▪ flock a large group of people of the same type, especially when they have a leader:
A flock of children were being shown through the museum.
▪ pack a group of people of the same type, especially a group you do not approve of:
A pack of reporters shouted questions.
▪ swarm a large crowd of people who are moving quickly in many directions in a very uncontrolled way:
a swarm of children in the playground
▪ crush a crowd of people who are pressed close together:
There was such a crush on the Metro this morning.
▪ multitude formal literary a very large number of people, especially ordinary people:
The Emperor came out to speak to the multitude.
⇨ ↑ group
II. crowd 2 BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ crowd , ↑ overcrowding ; adjective : ↑ crowded , ↑ overcrowded ; verb : ↑ crowd ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: crudan 'to press close' ]
1 . [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if people crowd somewhere, they gather together in large numbers, filling a particular place
crowd into
Hundreds of people crowded into the church for the funeral.
crowd round/around
We all crowded round the table.
be crowded together
the rapid spread of infection in areas where people are crowded together
2 . [transitive] if people or things crowd a place, there are a lot of them there:
Holidaymakers crowded the beaches.
Range after range of mountains crowd the horizon.
3 . [transitive] if thoughts or ideas crowd your mind or memory, they fill it, not allowing you to think of anything else:
Strange thoughts and worries were crowding his mind.
4 . [transitive]
a) to make someone angry by moving too close to them:
Stop crowding me – there’s plenty of room.
b) especially American English to make someone angry or upset by making too many unfair demands on them
crowd in phrasal verb
if problems or thoughts crowd in on you, you cannot stop thinking about them
crowd in on
She shut her mind against the fears that crowded in on her.
crowd somebody/something ↔ out phrasal verb
to force someone or something out of a place or situation:
Supermarket chains have crowded out the smaller shops.