swarm
1 Americannoun
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a body of honeybees that emigrate from a hive and fly off together, accompanied by a queen, to start a new colony.
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a body of bees settled together, as in a hive.
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a great number of things or persons, especially in motion.
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Biology. a group or aggregation of free-floating or free-swimming cells or organisms.
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Geology. a cluster of earthquakes or other geologic phenomena or features.
verb (used without object)
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to fly off together in a swarm, as bees.
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to move about, along, forth, etc., in great numbers, as things or persons.
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to congregate, hover, or occur in groups or multitudes; be exceedingly numerous, as in a place or area.
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(of a place) to be thronged or overrun; abound or teem.
The beach swarms with children on summer weekends.
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Biology. to move or swim about in a swarm.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a group of social insects, esp bees led by a queen, that has left the parent hive in order to start a new colony
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a large mass of small animals, esp insects
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a throng or mass, esp when moving or in turmoil
verb
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(intr) (of small animals, esp bees) to move in or form a swarm
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(intr) to congregate, move about or proceed in large numbers
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to overrun or be overrun (with)
the house swarmed with rats
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(tr) to cause to swarm
verb
Synonym Usage
See crowd 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
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
Explanation
A swarm is a good word for a large group of bees going on the attack — not good news. Like bees, any group of people or animals can be considered a swarm if they act together and quickly — even fiercely. On a hot day, when an ice-cream truck shows up, it's usually greeted by a swarm of hot, hungry kids. People at a concert can be a swarm — and people in the swarm can be hurt, because there's lots of pushing and shoving. When tickets for a popular movie go on sale, a swarm of people will swarm the theater. As you can see, swarm works as either a noun or verb, and people could teach bees a thing or two about swarming.
Vocabulary lists containing swarm
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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The Circuit
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By stationing players inside the six-yard box, the Meat Wall forces the defense to move its own players back, creating a swarm right on the goalkeeper’s toes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026
"I was talking with other students who believe this technology can be used in swarm robotics -- where small robots can entangle, do a task and then disentangle when they are done," said Pezeshki.
From Science Daily • Jun. 15, 2026
If tech companies’ optimistic plans are to be believed, a swarm of American-built robots is about to hit the market.
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2026
The 23-year-old's tactic of aggressively hitting early in the rallies, and a reluctance to patiently wait for chances to attack, underlined her keenness to swarm her opponent.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
A swarm of shadows danced in and out of view on the path just ahead.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
