throng
- 01 C1 Advanced
n.a very large group of people gathered closely together.
n.a large, densely packed crowd of people or animals.
Simple“A huge throng of fans waited outside the hotel to see the singer.”
In context“The minister struggled to make his way through the throng of reporters who had gathered at the parliament gates.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
v.to fill a place by gathering there in large numbers.
v.to crowd into or fill a place; often used in the passive voice or as an intransitive verb of motion.
Simple“Thousands of tourists thronged the city squares during the summer festival.”
In context“Shoppers thronged the narrow medieval streets, drawn by the promise of the annual winter market.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
adj.a regional way to say a place is very busy or full of people.
adj.describing a state of being busy, hurried, or densely occupied; restricted to specific regional varieties.
Simple“The market was very throng today with everyone buying food for the holiday.”
In context“In the local dialect, the shopkeeper remarked that the high street was particularly throng for a Tuesday morning.”
UsageCommonly used in Northern England and Scotland as a predicative adjective.
“The old-school seaside circuit is slipping off the calendar after this year’s race and victory on Sunday would be a bittersweet occasion for Red Bull’s four-time world champion and his throngs of orange-shirted supporters.”
“Crowds of several hundred continue to throng at Crowborough every Sunday, and HMOs are now a growing target.”
From Middle English throng, thrang, from Old English þrang, ġeþrang (“crowd, press, tumult”), from Proto-Germanic þrangwą, þrangwō (“throng”), from þrangwaz (“pressing, narrow”), from Proto-Indo-European trenkʷ- (“to beat; pound; hew; press”). Cognate with Dutch drang, German Drang. Compare also German Gedränge (“throng”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.