throng

1 of 2

noun

ˈthrȯŋ 

1

a

: a multitude of assembled persons

b

: a large number : host entry 4

2

a

: a crowding together of many persons

b

: a pressing increase of activity

this throng of business

—S. R. Crockett

throng

2 of 2

verb

thronged; thronging ˈthrȯŋ-iŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to crowd upon : press

a celebrity thronged by fans

2

: to crowd into : pack

shoppers thronging the streets

intransitive verb

: to crowd together in great numbers

Synonyms

Noun

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

Verb

• crowd
• flock
• mob
• swarm

Choose the Right Synonym for throng

crowd, throng, horde, crush, mob mean an assembled multitude.

crowd implies a close gathering and pressing together.

a crowd gathered

throng and horde suggest movement and pushing.

a throng of reporters

a horde of shoppers

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

Examples of throng in a Sentence

Noun

grabbed a megaphone and addressed the vast throng

Verb

Shoppers thronged the mall for the sales.

fans thronged the field to celebrate the win

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

December and January see throngs of orcas and humpbacks arriving and penguin chicks hatching. —Kerry Spencer, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Dec. 2024

In a dramatic scene, South Korean lawmakers worked their way through throngs of protesters and military vehicles to gather in the National Assembly building during the middle of the night, where members of the body who were present unanimously voted to end martial rule. —Shannon K. Kingston, ABC News, 3 Dec. 2024

Verb

During a recent night out in New York City, Tom Holland had to intervene when fans and photographers began to throng too aggressively around his girlfriend, Euphoria star Zendaya. —EW.com, 26 Oct. 2024

In bulk, though, their presence makes The Bear feel like an undiscovered neighborhood gem that suddenly got huge, and now its quiet little tables are full of celebrities thronging to be seen (and win guest-starring Emmy roles). —Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 17 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English throng, thrang "mass, press," going back to Old English *thrang or gethrang (with ge-, collective prefix), going back to West Germanic *þrang- (whence Middle Dutch gedranc "crowd, press," dranc, drang "pressure," Old High German gidrang "crowd, mass"), noun ablaut derivative from the base of Germanic *þrengan-,*þrenhan- "to press" (whence Old Saxon thringan "to press, urge," Old High German dringan, thringan, Old Norse þryngva "to press, crowd," Gothic þreihan), going back to dialectal Indo-European *trenk- "press," whence also Lithuanian trenkiù, treñkti "to push roughly, fling"

Verb

Middle English thrangen, throngen, probably derivative of throng, thrang throng entry 1, replacing thringen, going back to Old English thringan

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

throng

1 of 2 noun

ˈthrȯŋ 

1

: a large number of people gathered together

a throng of over 3000

2

: a large number : crowd

a throng of fans

a throng of cars

throng

2 of 2 verb

thronged; thronging ˈthrȯŋ-iŋ 

1

: to crowd upon or into

a celebrity thronged by fans

shoppers thronged the mall

2

: to move, pass, or crowd together in great numbers

the commuters thronged towards the station