flock

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈfläk 

1

: a group of animals (such as birds or sheep) assembled or herded together

2

: a group under the guidance of a leader

especially : a church congregation

3

: a large number

a flock of tourists

flock

2 of 4

verb (1)

flocked; flocking; flocks

intransitive verb

: to gather or move in a flock

they flocked to the beach

flock

3 of 4

noun (2)

1

: a tuft of wool or cotton fiber

2

: woolen or cotton refuse used for stuffing furniture and mattresses

3

: very short or pulverized fiber used especially to form a velvety pattern on cloth or paper or a protective covering on metal

4

: floc

flock

4 of 4

verb (2)

flocked; flocking; flocks

transitive verb

1

: to fill with flock

2

: to decorate with flock

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• army
• bike [chiefly Scottish]
• cram
• crowd
• crush
• drove
• herd
• horde
• host
• legion
• mass
• mob
• multitude
• press
• rout
• scrum
• swarm
• throng

Verb (1)

• crowd
• mob
• swarm
• throng

Examples of flock in a Sentence

Noun (1)

a flock of obstreperous reporters at the press conference

a flock of sheep crossing the road

Verb (1)

vacationers flocked to the towns along the shore in order to escape the August heat

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

They soon were joined by a flock of feeding turkeys. —Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 30 Oct. 2024

When massive flocks of passenger pigeons arrived, communities gathered to hunt the birds, which were once an integral part of the American diet. —Jared Del Rosso, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2024

Verb

Reagan’s conservative brand of politics appealed to the scores of Floridians who recently flocked to the state and had no ancestral connection to the Democratic Party. —Allison Mashell Mitchell / Made By History, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024

For more than 170 years, United States voters have flocked to the polls on the first Tuesday in November to cast their ballots. —Zach Bradshaw, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English flocc crowd, band; akin to Old Norse flokkr crowd, band

Noun (2)

Middle English flok, from Anglo-French, from Latin floccus

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing flock

• birds of a feather flock together

Kids Definition

flock

1 of 2 noun

ˈfläk 

1

: a group of animals (as birds or sheep) assembled or herded together

2

: a group someone keeps watch over

3

: a large number

a flock of tourists

flock

2 of 2 verb

: to gather or move in a crowd

they flocked to the beach