Word
throng
US/ˈθɹɔŋ/
UK/θɹˈɒŋ/
Definitions
01a large crowd
C1 · Advanced Countable noun Literary
n. a very large group of people gathered closely together.
n. a large, densely packed crowd of people or animals.
“A huge throng of fans waited outside the hotel to see the singer.”
“The minister struggled to make his way through the throng of reporters who had gathered at the parliament gates.”
Antonyms
02to fill a place
C1 · Advanced Literary
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.
“Thousands of tourists thronged the city squares during the summer festival.”
“Shoppers thronged the narrow medieval streets, drawn by the promise of the annual winter market.”
03busy or crowded
C2 · Proficiency Dialect · British English
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.
“The market was very throng today with everyone buying food for the holiday.”
“In the local dialect, the shopkeeper remarked that the high street was particularly throng for a Tuesday morning.”
Usage
Commonly used in Northern England and Scotland as a predicative adjective.
Real-World Examples
“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.” Etymology
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.
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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