flock

UK/flɒk//flɑk/

flock noun: a large number of animals associated together in a group; commonly used of sheep, but (dated) also used for goats or other livestock animals, or sometimes any group of animals.

Image: Roland Darré, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

flock (plural flocks)

(collective) A large number of animals associated together in a group; commonly used of sheep, but (dated) also used for goats or other livestock animals, or sometimes any group of animals.
- He told his father, and said it would be just suitable work for him to run about fields and woods amongst the strawberry hills after a flock of hares, and now and then lie down and take a nap on some sunny hill.1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 170
- Into the trees / Past meadow grounds / And further away from my home / Baying behind me / I hear the hounds / Flock's chasing to find me alone / A trail of sickness / Leading to me / If I am haunted / Then you will see2005, “Reverie / Harlequin Forest”, in Ghost Reveries, performed by Opeth
(collective) The group of sheep being watched by one shepherd.
(collective) A large number of people.
- The heathen […] came to Nicanor by flocks.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Maccabees 14:14
Synonyms:

congregation
Those served by a particular pastor or shepherd.
- But lapsed into so long a pause again / As half amazed, half frighted all his flock: [...]1864, Alfred Tennyson, “Aylmer’s Field”, in Enoch Arden, &c., London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 83
- I also have other sheep that are not from this pen. I must lead them. They, too, will respond to my voice. So they will be one flock with one shepherd.1995, Green Key Books, God's Word to the Nations (John 10:16)
1. A religious congregation.

Verb (1)

flock (third-person singular simple present flocks, present participle flocking, simple past and past participle flocked)

(intransitive) To congregate in or head towards a place in large numbers.
- People flocked to the cinema to see the new film.
- What place the gods for our repose assigned.
  Friends daily flock; and scarce the kindly spring
  Began to clothe the ground1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
(obsolete, transitive) To flock to; to crowd.
- Good fellows, trooping, flocked me so.1609, John Taylor, Penniless Pilgrimage

Noun (2)

flock (countable and uncountable, plural flocks)

Coarse tufts of wool or cotton used in bedding.
A lock of wool or hair.
- I prythee, Tom, beat Cut's saddle, put a few flocks in the point.c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
Very fine sifted woollen refuse, especially that from shearing the nap of cloths, formerly used as a coating for wallpaper to give it a velvety or clothlike appearance; also, the dust of vegetable fibre used for a similar purpose.
- There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter II, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans...

Verb (2)

flock (third-person singular simple present flocks, present participle flocking, simple past and past participle flocked)

(transitive) To coat a surface with dense fibers or particles; especially, to create a dense arrangement of fibers with a desired nap.
- the sampling and elution advantages of flocked swabs versus spun swabs
(transitive) To cover a Christmas tree with artificial snow.
(transitive) To treat a pool with chemicals to remove suspended particles.

Synonyms:

floc

Proper noun capitalized: Flock

Flock (plural Flocks)

A surname.

flock meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

flock in Hindi

group of animals, especially sheep or goats: झुंड jhuṇḍ, गल्ला gallā

flock in Tamil

கூடு, கூட்டம், திரள், மந்தை, மந்த, குழாம்

flock in Marathi

flock , crowd: थवा thavā
flock, herd: कळप kaḷap

flock in Urdu

group of animals, especially sheep or goats: گله galla

More languagesFewer languages

flock in Bengali: পশুপালক pośupalok
flock in Telugu: గుంపు gumpu, గుమిగూడు gumigūḍu
flock in Malayalam: കിട kiṭa
flock in Kannada: ಮಂದೆ, ಕದುಪು, ಕೊತ್ತಳಿ, ಕೊತ್ತಣಿ
flock in Punjabi: ਟੱਬਰ ṭabbar, ٹبر ṭabbar
flock in Odia: ବର୍ଗ barga, ଗୋଠ goṭha
flock in Sanskrit: गण gaṇá, समिति sámiti, अज्मन् ájman, कुल kúla
flock in Pashto: لښکر lax̌kár
flock in Tagalog: gasa, banda, ganado
flock in Arabic: سِرْب sirb, قَطِيع qaṭīʕ, تَهَافَتَ tahāfata, تَقَاطَرَ taqāṭara
flock in Persian: دسته daste, گله galle, رمه rame
flock in Thai: ฝูง fǔung, หมู่ mùu
flock in Vietnamese: đàn, bầy
flock in Myanmar: သိုးအုပ် sui:up

Examples of flock in a sentence

When Andy and I married in 1990, I brought 11 sheep descended from my father's flock to Andy's family's dairy farm.2026, Robin Nistock, quotee, “Makers Space”, in Spin Off, volume L, number 1, page 12:
Given the poor state of the line's trains and schedules, it is remarkable that people flock to use or experience it in embarrassingly large numbers.2021 October 20, Mark Rand, “S&C: a line fit for tourists... and everyone?”, in RAIL, number 942, page 43:

All 40 example sentences with flock

Synonyms of flock

5 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of flock

Forms of flock

Noun
plural	flocks
Verb
third-person singular present	flocks
present participle	flocking
past participle	flocked
past	flocked
Proper noun
plural	Flocks

Past tense of flock: flocked

Plural of flock: flocks

Origin of flock

From Middle English flok, from Old English flocc (“flock, company, troop”), from Proto-West Germanic *flokk, from Proto-Germanic *flukkaz (“crowd, troop”). Cognate with German Low German Flock (“crowd, flock”), Danish flok (“flock”), Swedish flock (“flock”), Norwegian flokk (“flock”), Faroese flokkur (“flock”), Icelandic flokkur (“flock, group”). Related also to Norman fliotchet (“flock, crowd”), from Old Norse. Perhaps related to Old English folc (“crowd, troop, band”). More at folk.

From Middle English flok (“tuft of wool”), from Old French floc (“tuft of wool”), from Late Latin floccus (“tuft of wool”), probably from Frankish *flokko (“down, wool, flock”), from Proto-Germanic *flukkōn-, *flukkan-, *fluksōn- (“down, flock”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“hair, fibres, tuft”). Cognate with Old High German flocko (“down”), Middle Dutch vlocke (“flock”), Norwegian dialectal flugsa (“snowflake”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian flok (“hair”).

Words formed from flock

Phrases with flock

Words that rhyme with flock

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about flock

What does flock mean?: Flock means a large number of animals associated together in a group; commonly used of sheep, but (dated) also used for goats or other livestock animals, or sometimes any group of animals.
What is flock in Hindi?: Flock in Hindi is झुंड (jhuṇḍ), गल्ला (gallā). See Flock meaning in Hindi.
How do you use flock in a sentence?: When Andy and I married in 1990, I brought 11 sheep descended from my father's flock to Andy's family's dairy farm.
What part of speech is flock?: Flock can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce flock?: Flock is pronounced /flɒk/ (UK).
What is the plural of flock?: The plural of flock is flocks.

Words near flock in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-flock.ogg.

Cite this entry: “flock.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/flock. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.