throng Hear it!

throng Definition

throng (t̸hrôŋ)

noun

  1. a great number of people gathered together; crowd
  2. a crowding together of people; crowded condition
  3. any great number of things massed or considered together; multitude

Etymology: ME < OE (ge)thrang (akin to Ger drang) < base of thringan, to press, crowd: for IE base see thrall

intransitive verb

to gather together, move, or press in a throng

transitive verb

  1. to crowd or press upon in large numbers
  2. to crowd into; fill with a multitude
throng Synonyms

throng

n.

multitude, mass, concourse, press; see crowd 1, gathering. See syn. study at crowd.

throng Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • spectator: Wales ' Commonwealth hopefuls impressed the gathered throng of spectators at the Norwich Union International this weekend.
  • shopper: Suddenly, they were in Oxford Street, amid a throng of shoppers.
  • tourist: Thread your way between the vehicles and join the throngs of tourists along the path into the gorge.
  • visitor: What draws throngs of visitors, however, is the oldest recorded tree in the world.
  • people: Pushing my way through the door into the busy throng of people I looked around the room.

Object

  • street: In the town itself, crowds thronged the streets.
  • crowd: Massive crowds thronged along the main parade stretch on the Shankill, dampened only slightly by occasional showers.
  • mass: Then we wandered round various bars where jazz & folk groups were entertaining the thronging masses.

Converse of object

  • assemble: Then a handsome young couple emerged to a roar of delight from the assembled throng.
  • heave: The others agreed and Gieve soon vanished into the heaving throng.
  • join: Suddenly I felt a new presence joining the throng.
  • gather: Out of the vast throng gathered for the feast three thousand were converted.

Adjective modifier

  • merry: There was the merry throng laughing, gamboling, working at top speed.
  • countless: Arthur was standing, and the jewels in his crown shone like bright stars above the countless throng.
  • dense: They parade in dense throngs and make the street impassable.
  • vast: Out of the vast throng gathered for the feast three thousand were converted.
  • happy: He would lead the happy dancing throng to the village green where a huge, decorated pole had been hoisted into position.
  • huge: Hiding their faces they rejoin the huge throng of miserable humanity - again in silence.

Preposition: with

  • visitor: For a start, it's thronged with visitors - far more than at its Korean counterpart.
  • people: Doctors ' waiting rooms are thronged with people who have no real need to be there.
throng Quotes

For I have a song to sing,O!† It is sung to the moon By a love-lorn loon, Who fled from the mocking throng,O! It's the song of a merryman moping mum, Whose soul was sad and whose glance was glum Who sipped no sup and who craved no crumb, As he sighed for the love of a ladye!

—Gilbert, Sir W(illiam) S(chwenck)

Leaving the tumultuous throng, To cut across the reflex of a star; Image that, flying still before me, gleamed Upon the glassy plain.

—Wordsworth,William