I. herd 1 /hɜːd $ hɜːrd/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: heord ]
1 . [countable] a group of animals of one kind that live and feed together ⇨ flock
herd of
a herd of cattle
herds of elephants
2 . the herd people generally, especially when thought of as being easily influenced by others:
You have to be an individual; it’s no use running with the herd.
the herd instinct (=the need to behave in the same way as everyone else does)
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THESAURUS
■ of animals
▪ herd a group of cows, deer, or elephants:
A herd of cows was blocking the road.
▪ team a group of people who work together:
She is being cared for by a team of doctors.
▪ flock a group of sheep or birds:
a flock of seagulls
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The farmer has over 100 sheep in his flock.
▪ pack a group of dogs or wolves:
Some dogs are bred to work in packs.
▪ litter a group of kittens or puppies born at one time to a particular mother:
He was one of a litter of seven puppies.
▪ school/shoal a group of fish or dolphins:
Piranha fish live in shoals in the wild.
II. herd 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to bring people together in a large group, especially roughly:
The prisoners were herded together.
I don’t want to be herded around with a lot of tourists.
herd somebody into something
The visitors were herded into two large halls.
2 . [transitive] to make animals move together in a group:
It was Tom’s duty to herd the cows.
3 . something is like herding cats used to say that trying to control or organize a group of people is very difficult