swarm

Noun · Verb
Synonyms: drovehordecloudteempullulatepourstream

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

  1. a moving crowdSynonyms: drovehorde
  2. a group of many things in the air or on the ground“a swarm of insects obscured the light”“clouds of blossoms”“it discharged a cloud of spores”Synonyms: cloud

Verb (2)

  1. be teeming, be abuzz“The garden was swarming with bees”“The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen”“her mind pullulated with worries”Synonyms: teempullulate
  2. move in large numbers“people were pouring out of the theater”“beggars pullulated in the plaza”Synonyms: pourstreamteempullulate
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Swarm \Swarm\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Swarmed; p. pr. & vb. n. Swarming.]

1.To collect, and depart from a hive by flight in a body; -- said of bees; as, bees swarm in warm, clear days in summer. [1913 Webster]

2.To appear or collect in a crowd; to throng together; to congregate in a multitude. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

3.To be crowded; to be thronged with a multitude of beings in motion. [1913 Webster]

Every place swarms with soldiers.— Spenser.[1913 Webster]

4.To abound; to be filled (with). --Atterbury. [1913 Webster]

5.To breed multitudes. [1913 Webster]

Not so thick swarmed once the soil Bedropped with blood of Gorgon.— Milton.[1913 Webster]
Swarm \Swarm\, v. i. [Cf. Swerve.] To climb a tree, pole, or the like, by embracing it with the arms and legs alternately. See Shin. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]

At the top was placed a piece of money, as a prize for those who could swarm up and seize it. --W. Coxe. [1913 Webster]

Swarm \Swarm\, n. [OE. swarm, AS. swearm; akin to D. zwerm, G. schwarm, OHG. swaram, Icel. svarmr a tumult, Sw. sv[aum]rm a swarm, Dan. svaerm, and G. schwirren to whiz, to buzz, Skr. svar to sound, and perhaps to E. swear. [root]177. Cf. Swerve, Swirl.]

1.A large number or mass of small animals or insects, especially when in motion. "A deadly swarm of hornets." --Milton. [1913 Webster]

2.Especially, a great number of honeybees which emigrate from a hive at once, and seek new lodgings under the direction of a queen; a like body of bees settled permanently in a hive. "A swarm of bees." --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

3.Hence, any great number or multitude, as of people in motion, or sometimes of inanimate objects; as, a swarm of meteorites. [1913 Webster]

Those prodigious swarms that had settled themselves in every part of it [Italy].— Addison.[1913 Webster]

Syn: Multitude; crowd; throng. [1913 Webster]

Swarm \Swarm\, v. t. To crowd or throng. --Fanshawe. [1913 Webster]
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