flock

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈfläk 

1

: a group of animals (such as birds or sheep) assembled or herded together

2

: a group under the guidance of a leader

especially : a church congregation

3

: a large number

a flock of tourists

flock

2 of 4

verb (1)

flocked; flocking; flocks

intransitive verb

: to gather or move in a flock

they flocked to the beach

flock

3 of 4

noun (2)

1

: a tuft of wool or cotton fiber

2

: woolen or cotton refuse used for stuffing furniture and mattresses

3

: very short or pulverized fiber used especially to form a velvety pattern on cloth or paper or a protective covering on metal

4

: floc

flock

4 of 4

verb (2)

flocked; flocking; flocks

transitive verb

1

: to fill with flock

2

: to decorate with flock

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• army
• bike [chiefly Scottish]
• cram
• crowd
• crush
• drove
• herd
• horde
• host
• legion
• mass
• mob
• multitude
• press
• rout
• scrum
• swarm
• throng

Verb (1)

• crowd
• mob
• swarm
• throng

Examples of flock in a Sentence

Noun (1)

a flock of obstreperous reporters at the press conference

a flock of sheep crossing the road

Verb (1)

vacationers flocked to the towns along the shore in order to escape the August heat

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Some stores around the U.S. are running short of eggs, especially those operating in states that require eggs from cage-free hens, as cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) flare and the virus spreads from wild birds to commercial flocks. —Kate Gibson, CBS News, 22 Nov. 2024

The film follows an aging shepherd who struggles to find a successor as bears prey on his flock, and a teenage boy who becomes obsessed with tracking the bears. —Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 20 Nov. 2024

Verb

Nearly 35 million new users have flocked to Instagram’s Threads this month as the Meta platform seeks to capture users leaving X and keep an edge over emerging platform Bluesky. —Miranda Nazzaro, The Hill, 26 Nov. 2024

In the same way that more educated, blue-state Americans gave Donald Trump a second look during the 2024 election, many high-income shoppers — who previously might've shopped elsewhere — are flocking to Walmart's 4,600 U.S. stores. —Nathan Bomey, Axios, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English flocc crowd, band; akin to Old Norse flokkr crowd, band

Noun (2)

Middle English flok, from Anglo-French, from Latin floccus

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing flock

• birds of a feather flock together

Kids Definition

flock

1 of 2 noun

ˈfläk 

1

: a group of animals (as birds or sheep) assembled or herded together

2

: a group someone keeps watch over

3

: a large number

a flock of tourists

flock

2 of 2 verb

: to gather or move in a crowd

they flocked to the beach