crowd / kroud/ • n. a large number of people gathered together, typically in a disorganized or unruly way. ∎  an audience. ∎ inf., often derog. a group of people who are linked by a common interest or activity: I've broken away from that whole junkie crowd. ∎  (the crowd) the mass or multitude of people, esp. those considered to be drearily ordinary or anonymous. ∎  a large number of things regarded collectively: the crowd of tall buildings.• v. [tr.] (often be crowded) (of a number of people) fill (a space) almost completely, leaving little or no room for movement. ∎  [intr.] (crowd into) (of a number of people) move into (a space, esp. one that seems too small). ∎  [intr.] (crowd around) (of a group of people) form a tightly packed mass around (someone or something). ∎  move too close to (someone), either aggressively or in a way that causes discomfort or harm. ∎  (crowd someone/something out) exclude someone or something by taking their place: grass invading the canyon has crowded out native plants. ∎ Baseball (of a batter) stand very close to (the plate) when batting.DERIVATIVES: crowd·ed·ness n.ORIGIN: Old English crūdan ‘press, hasten,’ of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kruien ‘push in a wheelbarrow.’ In Middle English the senses ‘move by pushing’ and ‘push one's way’ arose, leading to the sense ‘congregate,’ and hence (mid 16th cent.) to the noun.

crowds Of concern to some of the early social psychologists, such as Gustave Le Bon and Gabriel Tarde (who suggested the origins of crowds in both herd instincts and mass imitation), sociological research on crowds is now part of the study of collective behaviour. Crowds usually involve large numbers of people, in close proximity, with a common concern. They may be focused and instrumental, having a clear goal, such as attending a rally; or they may be expressive, where the group aims to produce its own emotional or expressive satisfaction, as for example in the case of a dancing crowd at a carnival. This line is not always easy to draw, as can be seen in the case of riots: some have argued that riots are expressive and purely emotional, an outburst of senseless rage and destruction; others have suggested riots are instrumental, being either a political statement, or a criminal act of theft and destruction. These distinctions are not always clear. Others, no less ambiguous, concern the differences between focused crowds (having a specific object or goal), and diffuse crowds (uncertain, suggestible, and in which milling and rumour is common). An important series of such clarifications may be found in Ralph H. Turner and Lewis M. Killian's Collective Behaviour (1957). See also EMERGENT NORMS.

105. Crowds

See also 275. MOB .

demomania

a mania for crowds. Also called ochlomania .

demophilia

a fondness for crowds. —demophil, demophile . n.

demophobia

an abnormal fear of crowds. Also called ochlophobia .

mobocracy

government by the mob; the mob as ruler or dominant force in society. —mobocrat, n. —mobocratic , adj.

ochlomania

demomania.

ochlophobia

demophobia.

phalanx

an ancient military formation of serried ranks surrounded by shields; hence, any crowded mass of people or group united for a common purpose.

Crowd

a number of persons or things closely pressed together, 1567; a company. See also lot.

Examples: crowd of advertisements, 1728; of distinguished men, 1848; of islands; of names, 1868; of people, 1567; of redwing; of rivals, 1712; of sail, 1803; of sins, 1627; of new thoughts, 1855.

crowd press on OE.; †push; press in a throng XIV; fill up with compression XVI. OE. crūdan intr. push forward, orig. str. vb. corr. to MLG., MDu. krūden; cf. OE. croda crowd.
Hence crowd sb. dense multitude. XVI.