flock

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flock¹

(flŏk)

1. A group of animals that live, travel, or feed together.

2. A group of people under the leadership of one person, especially the members of a church.

3. A large crowd or number: a flock of visitors; a flock of questions. See Synonyms at crowd¹.

intr.v. flocked, flock·ing, flocks

To gather or travel in a flock or crowd.

[Middle English flok, from Old English floc.]

flock²

(flŏk)

1. A tuft, as of fiber or hair.

2. Waste wool or cotton used for stuffing furniture and mattresses.

3. Pulverized wool or felt that is applied to paper, cloth, or metal to produce a texture or pattern.

4. See floccule.

tr.v. flocked, flock·ing, flocks

1. To stuff with waste wool or cotton.

2. To texture or pattern with pulverized wool or felt.

[Middle English flok, from Old French floc, from Latin floccus, tuft of wool.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

flock

(flɒk)

n (sometimes functioning as plural)

1. a group of animals of one kind, esp sheep or birds

2. a large number of people; crowd

3. (Ecclesiastical Terms) a body of Christians regarded as the pastoral charge of a priest, a bishop, the pope, etc

4. rare a band of people; group

vb (intr)

5. to gather together or move in a flock

6. to go in large numbers: people flocked to the church.

[Old English flocc; related to Old Norse flokkr crowd, Middle Low German vlocke]

flock

(flɒk)

1. a tuft, as of wool, hair, cotton, etc

2. (Furniture)

a. waste from fabrics such as cotton, wool, or other cloth used for stuffing mattresses, upholstered chairs, etc

b. (as modifier): flock mattress.

3. (Textiles) very small tufts of wool applied to fabrics, wallpaper, etc, to give a raised pattern

4. (Chemistry) another word for floccule

(tr) to fill, cover, or ornament with flock

[C13: from Old French floc, from Latin floccus; probably related to Old High German floccho down, Norwegian flugsa snowflake]

ˈflocky adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

flock¹

(flɒk)

n.

1. an assemblage of animals, esp. sheep, goats, or birds, that live, travel, or feed together.

2. a large group of people or things: flocks of sightseers.

3. a single congregation in relation to its pastor.

v.i.

4. to gather or go in a flock: They flocked around the football hero.

[before 1000; Middle English; Old English floc; c. Old Norse flokkr]

flock′less, adj.

usage: See collective noun.

flock²

(flɒk)

n.

1. a tuft of wool, hair, cotton, etc.

2. (sometimes used with a pl. v.) wool refuse, shearings of cloth, or old cloth torn to pieces.

3. Also called flocking. (sometimes used with a pl. v.) finely powdered wool or cloth used for producing a velvetlike pattern on wallpaper.

v.t.

4. to stuff with flock.

5. to decorate or coat with flock.

[1250–1300; Middle English flok < Old French floc < Latin floccus tuft of wool]

flock′y, adj. flock•i•er, flock•i•est.

Flock

a company of people, birds, or animals; a group of Christians who worship together. See also bevy, drove.

Examples: flock of acquaintances; of affections, 1601; of auks [at sea]; of bats; of birds; of bitterns; of bustards; of camels, 1839; of Christians; of coots; of cotton, 1756; of cranes; of ducks [flying in a line]; of elephants, 1614; of fish, 1480; of friends; of geese [on the ground], 1596; of goats; of hens, 1690; of interpreters, 1581; of lice; of pamphlets, 1642; of parrots; of prophets; of seals; of sheep, 1340; of ships [book title by B. Callison]; of swifts; of wool, 1440.

flock

Past participle: flocked
Gerund: flocking

Imperative
flock
flock

Present
I flock
you flock
he/she/it flocks
we flock
you flock
they flock

Preterite
I flocked
you flocked
he/she/it flocked
we flocked
you flocked
they flocked

Present Continuous
I am flocking
you are flocking
he/she/it is flocking
we are flocking
you are flocking
they are flocking

Present Perfect
I have flocked
you have flocked
he/she/it has flocked
we have flocked
you have flocked
they have flocked

Past Continuous
I was flocking
you were flocking
he/she/it was flocking
we were flocking
you were flocking
they were flocking

Past Perfect
I had flocked
you had flocked
he/she/it had flocked
we had flocked
you had flocked
they had flocked

Future
I will flock
you will flock
he/she/it will flock
we will flock
you will flock
they will flock

Future Perfect
I will have flocked
you will have flocked
he/she/it will have flocked
we will have flocked
you will have flocked
they will have flocked

Future Continuous
I will be flocking
you will be flocking
he/she/it will be flocking
we will be flocking
you will be flocking
they will be flocking

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been flocking
you have been flocking
he/she/it has been flocking
we have been flocking
you have been flocking
they have been flocking

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been flocking
you will have been flocking
he/she/it will have been flocking
we will have been flocking
you will have been flocking
they will have been flocking

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been flocking
you had been flocking
he/she/it had been flocking
we had been flocking
you had been flocking
they had been flocking

Conditional
I would flock
you would flock
he/she/it would flock
we would flock
you would flock
they would flock

Past Conditional
I would have flocked
you would have flocked
he/she/it would have flocked
we would have flocked
you would have flocked
they would have flocked

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	flock - a church congregation guided by a pastor congregation, faithful, fold - a group of people who adhere to a common faith and habitually attend a given church
	2.	flock - a group of birds bird - warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings bevy - a flock of birds (especially when gathered close together on the ground); "we were visited at breakfast by a bevy of excited ducks" covert - a flock of coots covey - a small flock of grouse or partridge exaltation - a flock of larks (especially a flock of larks in flight overhead) gaggle - a flock of geese wisp - a flock of snipe animal group - a group of animals flight - a flock of flying birds
	3.	flock - (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent; "a batch of letters"; "a deal of trouble"; "a lot of money"; "he made a mint on the stock market"; "see the rest of the winners in our huge passel of photos"; "it must have cost plenty"; "a slew of journalists"; "a wad of money" good deal, great deal, hatful, lot, muckle, passel, peck, mickle, mint, quite a little, slew, spate, tidy sum, wad, stack, raft, mountain, pile, plenty, mass, batch, heap, deal, pot, mess, sight large indefinite amount, large indefinite quantity - an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude deluge, flood, inundation, torrent - an overwhelming number or amount; "a flood of requests"; "a torrent of abuse" haymow - a mass of hay piled up in a barn for preservation
	4.	flock - an orderly crowd; "a troop of children" troop crowd - a large number of things or people considered together; "a crowd of insects assembled around the flowers"
	5.	flock - a group of sheep or goats fold sheep - woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat animal group - a group of animals
Verb	1.	flock - move as a crowd or in a group; "Tourists flocked to the shrine where the statue was said to have shed tears" go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast"
	2.	flock - come together as in a cluster or flock; "The poets constellate in this town every summer" cluster, constellate, clump huddle, huddle together - crowd or draw together; "let's huddle together--it's cold!" bunch, bunch together, bunch up - form into a bunch; "The frightened children bunched together in the corner of the classroom" foregather, forgather, gather, assemble, meet - collect in one place; "We assembled in the church basement"; "Let's gather in the dining room"

flock

noun

1. herd, group, flight, drove, colony, gaggle, skein They kept a small flock of sheep.

2. crowd, company, group, host, collection, mass, gathering, assembly, convoy, herd, congregation, horde, multitude, throng, bevy his flock of advisors

verb

1. stream, crowd, mass, swarm, throng The public have flocked to the show.

2. gather, group, crowd, mass, collect, assemble, herd, huddle, converge, throng, congregate, troop The crowds flocked around her.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

flock

noun

1. An enormous number of persons gathered together:

crowd, crush, drove, horde, mass, mob, multitude, press, ruck, swarm, throng.

2. A very large number of things grouped together:

army, cloud, crowd, drove, horde, host, legion, mass, mob, multitude, ruck, score (used in plural), swarm, throng.

verb

To congregate, as around a person:

crowd, mob, press, throng.

Translations

سِرْبيَتَوافَد، يَذْهَبون معا في جماعات

ято

stádohejnoshromáždit se

flokgå i flokmyldresværm

Herde Schwarm strömen Schäfchen

κοπάδι

ŝafaro

rebaño bandada congregación congregarse hato

laumapäällystääparvivanukatras

troupeau vol volée affluer bande

jatostado

nyájösszesereglikpamatpiheraj

flokkurflykkjast, hópasthjörî, flokkurhópur

gregge stormo accalcarsi batuffolo bioccolo

群れ

무리

bandabūriais eitibūriais rinktispulkas

barsdrūzmētiesganāmpulkspulcēties

стая группа отара паства стадо

jatačreda

јато

flockfolkmassahop

เฮฝูงฝูงสัตว์หมู่

sürüakın akın gitmekakın etmek

đàn

群成群地去

flock

¹ [flɒk]

A. N [of sheep, goats] → rebaño m; [of birds] → bandada f; [of people] → tropel m, multitud f (Rel) → grey f, rebaño m
they came in flocks → acudieron en tropel

B. VI (= move in numbers) → ir en tropel
they flocked to the station → fueron en tropel hacia la estación
to flock around sb → apiñarse en torno a algn
to flock together → congregarse, reunirse

flock

² [flɒk] N (= wool) → borra f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

flock

[ˈflɒk]

[sheep] → troupeau m
a flock of sheep → un troupeau de moutons

[birds] → vol m
a flock of birds → un vol d'oiseaux

[people] → foule f
a flock of → une foule de
flocks of journalists → une foule de journalistes

vi
to flock to sth → venir en masse à qch
to flock to see sth → affluer pour voir qch

flock

(of sheep, geese, also Eccl) → Herde f; (of birds) → Schwarm m, → Schar f

(of people) → Schar f, → Haufen m (inf)

vi → in Scharen kommen; to flock in → hineinströmen or -drängen; to flock out → hinausströmen or -drängen; to flock around somebody → sich um jdn scharen or drängen

flock

n (Tex) → Flocke f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

flock

[flɒk]

1. n (of sheep) (also Rel) → gregge m; (of birds) → stormo; (of people) → stuolo, folla

2. vi (crowd) → affollarsi, ammassarsi
to flock around sb → affollarsi intorno a qn

flock

(flok) noun

a number of certain animals or birds together. a flock of sheep.

verb

(with to, ~into etc) to gather or go somewhere together in a group or crowd. People flocked to the cinema.

flock

→ سِرْب stádo flok Herde κοπάδι rebaño lauma troupeau stado gregge 群れ 무리 kudde flokk stado rebanho стая flock ฝูงสัตว์ sürü đàn 群

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

They are growing more thick every instant, Here is a flock that the eye cannot see the end of.

View in context

After performance of this pious rite Haita unbarred the gate of the fold and with a cheerful mind drove his flock afield, eating his morning meal of curds and oat cake as he went, occasionally pausing to add a few berries, cold with dew, or to drink of the waters that came away from the hills to join the stream in the middle of the valley and be borne along with it, he knew not whither.

View in context

[3] When riding, it is a common thing to meet a large flock of sheep guarded by one or two dogs, at the distance of some miles from any house or man.

View in context

Eagerly and with shouts drove they their flock over their foot-bridge; as if there were but one foot-bridge to the future!

View in context

"'You will now come to the Thrinacian island, and here you will see many herds of cattle and flocks of sheep belonging to the sun-god--seven herds of cattle and seven flocks of sheep, with fifty head in each flock.

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According to the tradition, Gyges was a shepherd in the service of the king of Lydia; there was a great storm, and an earthquake made an opening in the earth at the place where he was feeding his flock. Amazed at the sight, he descended into the opening, where, among other marvels, he beheld a hollow brazen horse, having doors, at which he stooping and looking in saw a dead body of stature, as appeared to him, more than human, and having nothing on but a gold ring; this he took from the finger of the dead and reascended.

View in context

Numa had been within such a corral as this before, so that he knew that somewhere in the wall was a small door through which the goatherd might pass from the city to his flock; toward this door he made his way, whether by plan or accident it is difficult to say, though in the light of ensuing events it seems possible that the former was the case.

View in context

And Curdken said, 'When we go in the morning through the dark gate with our flock of geese, she cries and talks with the head of a horse that hangs upon the wall, and says:

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She dips her rim, She sinks, she founders in the mist; and still The stream flows on, and to the insatiate sea Hurries her white-wave flocks innumerable In never-ending tale.

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1-9) I sing of Cyllenian Hermes, the Slayer of Argus, lord of Cyllene and Arcadia rich in flocks, luck-bringing messenger of the deathless gods.

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Every other day, these troops were marched out in martial array, to a level piece of ground in the vicinity, and there for hours went through all sorts of military evolutions, surrounded by flocks of the natives, who looked on with savage admiration at the show, and as savage a hatred of the actors.

View in context

The pigeons, too, were filling the woods in vast migratory flocks. It is almost incredible to describe the prodigious flights of these birds in the western wildernesses.

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