a large number of small animals or insects, usually in motion; throngs of people or things, sometimes of an irritating or annoying nature.
Examples: swarm of adders, 1569; of fair advantages, 1596; of the Anti-Christ, 1549; of ants; of bees, 1300; of bishops, 1553; of their demands, 1785; of dust, 1890; of eels; of fireflies, 1842; of flies, 1560; of folk, 1423; of footmen, 1542; of fowl, 1600; of fry, 1780; of gnats—Brewer; of heretics, 1581; of hornets; of horsemen, 1542; of insects; of locusts, 1684; of meteorites; of ministers of Christ, 1685; of sins, 1582; of tiger, 1600; of vessels, 1698; of wasps.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
crowd - a large number of things or people considered together; "a crowd of insects assembled around the flowers"
2.
swarm - 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"
infestation, plague - a swarm of insects that attack plants; "a plague of grasshoppers"
Verb
1.
swarm - be teeming, be abuzz; "The garden was swarming with bees"; "The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen"; "her mind pullulated with worries"
1. a great number (of insects or other small creatures) moving together. a swarm of ants. swerm سِرْب، عَدَد كَبير рояк enxame roj der Schwarm sværm; flok σμήνοςenjambre, hervidero, hormiguero parv خيل حشرات parvi essaimלהקה झुण्ड दल roj, jato raj kelompok serangga (skordÿra)sveimur, urmull, mor, ger sciame, nugolo 群れ (곤충 등의) 많은 무리, 떼 būrys, spiečius spiets; pūznis kawan zwermsvermrój, mrowie دحشراتو ډله enxame roi рои; стая roj roj roj svärm ฝูงแมลง ... kümesi (移動中的)一群(昆蟲) рій; зграя کیڑوں کا جھنڈ đàn, đám, bầy (移动中的)一群(昆虫)
2. (often in plural) a great number or crowd. swarms of people. menigte حَشْدٌ مِن، عَدَد كَبير مِن множество multidão spousta, dav der Schwarm sværm μιλιούνια, πλήθη (πληθ.) enjambre, multitud, miríada, hervidero, hormiguero kari گروهي liuta essaim, troupeנחיל भीड़-भाड़ gomila, mnoštvo tömeg orang banyak mergð, skari frotta, moltitudine 大勢 많은 군중 minios bars; pūlis kumpulan besar zwermvrimmel, myldermnóstwo ډله ایز multidão ceată, trupă толпы hŕba, dav truma gomila myller, vimmel, skara กลุ่มคนหรือสัตว์จำนวนมากมาย sürü, yığın 一大群 маса, купа لوگوں کا مجمع đám đông, số đông 一大群
verb
1. (of bees) to follow a queen bee in a swarm. swerm سِرْب من النَّحْل роя се acompanhar a rainha rojit se schwärmen sværme ακολουθώ τη βασίλισσα σε μαζική μετακίνηση (για μέλισσα) enjambrar peret heitma گروهي وارد شدن parveilla essaimer לִנהוֹר झुण्ड बनाकर छत्ता छोड़ देना rojiti se rajzik berkelompok fljúga í hóp, sverma sciamare 巣別れする (벌이) 무리로 여왕벌을 따르다 spiestis spietot sekawan zwermsvermeroić się په ډله ایزه توګه راتلل acompanhar a rainha a roi роиться rojiť sa rojiti vrveti svärma รวมเป็นฝูง oğul vermek 傾巢出動 роїтися شہد کی مکھیوں کا رانی مکھی کا پیچھا کرنا di chuyển thành đàn, thành bầy 倾巢出动
2. to move in great numbers. The children swarmed out of the school. stroom يَتَدَفَّق بأعْدادٍ كَبيرَه тълпя се pulular vyrojit se schwärmen myldre κινούμαι μαζικά aglomerarse, apiñarse, pulular voogama, paiskuma دستجمعي مهاجرت كردن virrata aller en masse לִנהוֹר לְהִתקַהֵל घूमना kretati se u gomili kirajzik berbondong-bondong flykkjast, hópast affollarsi, accalcarsi 群がる 무리를 지어 이동하다 plūsti, pasipilti drūzmēties; pūlī doties berduyun-duyun zwermenvrimle, myldreroić się په ډله ایزه توګه مهاجرت کول pulular a forfoti валить толпой vyrojiť sa valiti se vrveti svärma, strömma เคลื่อนไปเป็นกลุ่ม akın etmek, akın akın gitmek 蜂擁而出 товпитися; юрмитися کثیر تعداد میں جمع ہونا đi thành đám đông, đàn 蜂拥而出
3. to be full of moving crowds. The Tower of London was swarming with tourists. wemel مَليء بِ، يَعِجُّ بِ гъмжа estar apinhado být plný wimmeln vrimle; myldre κατακλύζομαι από πλήθη plagar, bullir, hormiguear, pulular kubisema ازدحام كردن kuhista fourmiller de לִהיוֹת מָלֵא उमड़ना, भारी संख्या में आना vrvjeti hemzseg penuh orang mora, vera fullur af brulicare, pullulare いっぱいである 무리로 분비다 knibždėti mudžēt penuh krioelenkry, vrimleroić się ازدحام کول estar apinhado a fi plin de кишеть byť plný mrgoleti vrveti myllra, vimla เต็มไปด้วยผู้คน dolup taşmak 擠滿 кишіти جم غفیر ہونا đầy nhung nhúc 挤满
"Sometimes the inhabitants have had the idea to burn the forests, and even the standing crops, in order to arrest the progress of these insects; but the first ranks plunging into the flames would extinguish them beneath their mass, and the rest of the swarm would then pass irresistibly onward.
Close inshore was a multitude of fishing smacks--English, Scotch, French, Dutch, and Swedish; steam launches from the Thames, yachts, electric boats; and beyond were ships of large burden, a multitude of filthy colliers, trim merchantmen, cattle ships, passenger boats, petroleum tanks, ocean tramps, an old white transport even, neat white and grey liners from Southampton and Hamburg; and along the blue coast across the Blackwater my brother could make out dimly a dense swarm of boats chaffering with the people on the beach, a swarm which also extended up the Blackwater almost to Maldon.
With wonder and admiration, Alleyne, leaning over the bulwarks, gazed at the forest of masts, the swarm of boats darting hither and thither on the bosom of the broad curving stream, and the gray crescent-shaped city which stretched with many a tower and minaret along the western shore.
Then the people begun to holler at him and make fun of him, and that made him mad, and he begun to rip and tear; so that stirred up the people, and a lot of men begun to pile down off of the benches and swarm towards the ring, saying, "Knock him down!
The swarm of renegades - dock-masters, berthing-masters, gatemen, and such like - appear to nurse an immense distrust of the captive ship's resignation.
Bennigsen, the Tsarevich, and a swarm of adjutants general remained with the army to keep the commander in chief under observation and arouse his energy, and Barclay, feeling less free than ever under the observation of all these "eyes of the Emperor," became still more cautious of undertaking any decisive action and avoided giving battle.
At the point which I had reached in a preceding paragraph of this account, the situation was as follows: two horses lay dying; the bull had scattered his persecutors for the moment, and stood raging, panting, pawing the dust in clouds over his back, when the man that had been wounded returned to the ring on a remount, a poor blindfolded wreck that yet had something ironically military about his bearing - and the next moment the bull had ripped him open and his bowls were dragging upon the ground: and the bull was charging his swarm of pests again.
But as we strained and struggled about the tree into which Tars Tarkas was clambering with infinite difficulty, I suddenly caught a glimpse over the shoulder of my antagonist of the great swarm of pursuers that now were fairly upon me.
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