crowd
n. countablen. a large group of people who have gathered together in one place. You use this word when there are so many people that it is hard to move or see.
n. a large number of people gathered together in a disorganized or unruly way. Often used to describe the audience at a public event or a mass of people in a public space.
A large crowd gathered to watch the parade.
The police had to manage the crowd that formed outside the stadium before the concert started.
The speaker struggled to make her voice heard over the restless crowd, which had grown increasingly impatient during the long delay.
From Middle English crouden, from Old English crūdan, from Proto-West Germanic krūdan, from Proto-Germanic krūdaną, kreudaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European grewt- (“to push; press”). Cognate with German Low German kroden (“to push, shove”), Dutch kruien (“to push, shove”).
Inherited from Middle English crowde, from Welsh crwth or a Celtic cognate.
Commonly takes a singular verb in American English, but can take a plural verb in British English when referring to the individuals within the group.