swarm
UK/swɔːm//swɔɹm/
swarm noun: a large number of insects or other bugs (e.g. centipedes), especially when in motion or (for bees) migrating to a new colony.
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Noun
swarm (plural swarms)
- A large number of insects or other bugs (e.g. centipedes), especially when in motion or (for bees) migrating to a new colony.
- […] reſtleſs thoughts, that like a deadly ſwarm / Of Hornets arm'd […] ruſh upon me thronging,1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 10, lines...
- A mass of people, animals or things in motion or turmoil.
- a swarm of meteorites
- those prodigious swarms that had settled themselves in every part of it [Italy]1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
- A group of nodes sharing the same torrent in a BitTorrent network.
- A number of small earthquakes (or other seismic events) occurring, with no clear cause, in a specific area within a relatively short space of time.
- Earthquakes were another concern, particularly after swarms were felt in Oklahoma.2020, Daniel Yergin, The New Map, Penguin, published 2021, page 28
Verb
swarm (third-person singular simple present swarms, present participle swarming, simple past and past participle swarmed)
- To move as a swarm.
- There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy. Mail bags, so I understand, are being put on board. Stewards, carrying cabin trunks, swarm in the corridors.1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC
- When I was there, at about 0200 this morning [15 May], hundreds of students had swarmed up the steps of the Great Hall and sat there making political speeches. Troops were moved in, 100 or so filed out of the hall and drove the students back, but they were extremely gentle, saying xiexie, xiexie...1989 May 15 [1989 May 14], Tim Luard, quotee, “Split Between Students Reported”, in Daily Report: China, number 092, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, sourced from Hong Kong Domestic Service...
- Synonyms:
- horde
- To teem, or be overrun with insects, people, etc.
- Every place swarming with soldiers.1596 (date written; published 1633), Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […], →OCLC; republished as A View of the State of Ireland […]...
- To fill a place as a swarm.
- All is well until Treorchy, where the platform is swamped by teenagers who have been attending an event. Around four dozen unescorted 12 to 16 year-olds swarm aboard and begin to run riot through the train. Their behaviour is appalling and the presence of CCTV no deterrent.2024 November 13, Paul Bigland, “Much to admire... but pockets of neglect”, in RAIL, number 1022, page 48
- To overwhelm as by an opposing army.
- So, yeah. The overall conclusion of the big gunfight being that, if Yamato is able to tackle the Colorados early, then the Japanese probably have a, maybe a sixty-to-sixty-five-percent chance of pulling this off... although you say "pulling it off", it's more a case of "the Japanese are the last...2019 March 6, Drachinifel, 37:59 from the start, in The Battle of Samar (Alternate History) - Bring on the Battleships!, archived from the original on 20 Jul 2022
- To climb by gripping with arms and legs alternately.
- At the top was placed a piece of money, as a prize for those who could swarm up and seize it.1784, William Coxe, Travels into Poland, Russia, Sweden and Denmark
- She called out, and a boy came running along. He swarmed up a tree, and presently threw down a ripe nut. Ata pierced a hole in it, and the doctor took a long, refreshing draught.1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 55”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC
- To breed multitudes.
- Not ſo thick ſwarm'd once the Soil / Bedropt with blood of Gorgon,1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
swarm meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
swarm in Tamil
- a mass of people or animals in turmoil
- திரள் tiraḷ
swarm in Urdu
- بھیڑ, دل, گلہ, غول, ہجوم, جھنڈ
swarm in Malayalam
- വെട്ടുകിളി, തേനീച്ച തുടങ്ങിയ പ്രാണിക്കൂട്ടം, സംഘം, പുരുഷാരം
More languagesFewer languages
- swarm in Kannada
- ಬಿಡಯ, ಬಂಬಲು, ಬಂಬಲ್, ಬೊಂಬಲ್
- swarm in Gujarati
- ધાડું dhāṛũ
- swarm in Nepali
- गोलो golo
- swarm in Arabic
- ثَوْل ṯawl, اِزْدِحَام izdiḥām
- swarm in Indonesian
- kerumun, mengagas
Examples of swarm in a sentence
- We had a hard year last year, with the locust swarms and all that.
- The trees were left bare after the swarm of locusts devoured all the leaves.
- I decided to geno insects because of the risk of swarms in the early game.
Synonyms of swarm
Forms of swarm
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | swarms |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | swarms |
| present participle | swarming |
| past participle | swarmed |
| past | swarmed |
Origin of swarm
From Middle English swarm, from Old English swearm (“swarm, multitude”), from Proto-West Germanic *swarm, from Proto-Germanic *swarmaz (“swarm, dizziness”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“to buzz, hum”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Swoorm (“swarm”), Dutch zwerm, German Schwarm, Danish sværm, Swedish svärm, Icelandic svarmur (“tumult, swarm”), Latin susurrus (“whispering, humming”), Lithuanian surma (“a pipe”), Russian свире́ль (svirélʹ, “a pipe, reed”). The verb is from Middle English swarmen, swermen, from Old English swirman (“to swarm”), from Proto-West Germanic *swarmijan, from Proto-Germanic *swarmijaną (“to swarm”), from the noun. Cognate with Scots swairm, swerm (“to swarm”), Dutch zwermen, German schwärmen, Danish sværme, Swedish svärma.
Words formed from swarm
Phrases with swarm
Words that rhyme with swarm
9 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about swarm
- What does swarm mean?
- Swarm means a large number of insects or other bugs (e.g. centipedes), especially when in motion or (for bees) migrating to a new colony.
- What is swarm in Tamil?
- Swarm in Tamil is திரள் (tiraḷ). See Swarm meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is swarm?
- Swarm can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce swarm?
- Swarm is pronounced /swɔɹm/ (US).
- What is the plural of swarm?
- The plural of swarm is swarms.
Words near swarm in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: swarm (page history and authors); swarm (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); swarm (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); swarm (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); swarm (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ધાડું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); गोलो (Nepali) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-swarm.ogg.
Cite this entry: “swarm.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/swarm. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.