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View synonyms for

swarm

1

[ swawrm ]

noun

  1. a body of honeybees that emigrate from a hive and fly off together, accompanied by a queen, to start a new colony.
  2. a body of bees settled together, as in a hive.
  3. a great number of things or persons, especially in motion.

    Synonyms: , ,

  4. Biology. a group or aggregation of free-floating or free-swimming cells or organisms.
  5. Geology. a cluster of earthquakes or other geologic phenomena or features.


verb (used without object)

  1. to fly off together in a swarm, as bees.
  2. to move about, along, forth, etc., in great numbers, as things or persons.
  3. to congregate, hover, or occur in groups or multitudes; be exceedingly numerous, as in a place or area.
  4. (of a place) to be thronged or overrun; abound or teem:

    The beach swarms with children on summer weekends.

  5. Biology. to move or swim about in a swarm.

verb (used with object)

  1. to swarm about, over, or in; throng; overrun.
  2. to produce a swarm of.

swarm

2

[ swawrm ]

verb (used with or without object)

  1. to climb by clasping with the legs and hands or arms and drawing oneself up; shin.

swarm

1

/ ɔː /

noun

  1. a group of social insects, esp bees led by a queen, that has left the parent hive in order to start a new colony
  2. a large mass of small animals, esp insects
  3. a throng or mass, esp when moving or in turmoil
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. intr (of small animals, esp bees) to move in or form a swarm
  2. intr to congregate, move about or proceed in large numbers
  3. whenintr, often foll by with to overrun or be overrun (with)

    the house swarmed with rats

  4. tr to cause to swarm
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

swarm

2

/ ɔː /

verb

  1. whenintr, usually foll by up to climb (a ladder, etc) by gripping with the hands and feet

    the boys swarmed up the rigging

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • ɲİ noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of swarm1

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English swearm; cognate with German Schwarm swarm, Old Norse svarmr “tumult”; the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of swarm2

First recorded in 1540–50; origin uncertain
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Word History and Origins

Origin of swarm1

Old English swearm; related to Old Norse svarmr uproar, Old High German swaram swarm

Origin of swarm2

C16: of unknown origin
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Synonym Study

See crowd 1.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Lindblad was unaware of her first victory until cameras swarmed her as she nervously snacked in front of the clubhouse.

From

When the so-called swarm of earthquakes hit in February, she left the island with her daughter.

From

The contentious hearing, which led to swarms of media, yielded few developments.

From

“They have colonized my imagination like a swarm of bees,” he writes of his teenage self.

From

Ron Gochez, a member of Unión del Barrio, said he was present at a recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in which agents swarmed an apartment building in the 400 block of East 41st Street.

From

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