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swarm

 - 6 dictionary results

swarm

1  [swawrm] ,
Use swarm in a Sentence
–noun
1. a body of honeybees that emigrate from a hive and fly off together, accompanied by a queen, to start a new colony.
2. a body of bees settled together, as in a hive.
3. a great number of things or persons, esp. in motion.
4. Biology. a group or aggregation of free-floating or free-swimming cells or organisms.
5. Geology. a cluster of earthquakes or other geologic phenomena or features.
–verb (used without object)
6. to fly off together in a swarm, as bees.
7. to move about, along, forth, etc., in great numbers, as things or persons.
8. to congregate, hover, or occur in groups or multitudes; be exceedingly numerous, as in a place or area.
9. (of a place) to be thronged or overrun; abound or teem: The beach swarms with children on summer weekends.
10. Biology. to move or swim about in a swarm.
–verb (used with object)
11. to swarm about, over, or in; throng; overrun.
12. to produce a swarm of.
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME; OE swearm; c. G Schwarm swarm, ON svarmr tumult; (v.) ME swarmen, deriv. of the n.

Related forms:
swarmer, noun

Synonyms:
3. horde, host, mass. See crowd 1 .

swarm

2  [swawrm] ,
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
to climb by clasping with the legs and hands or arms and drawing oneself up; shin.
Origin:
1540–50; orig. uncert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To swarm
swarm 1   (swôrm)   
n.  

  1. A large number of insects or other small organisms, especially when in motion.

  2. A group of bees with a queen bee in migration to establish a new colony. See Synonyms at flock1.

  3. An aggregation of persons or animals, especially when in turmoil or moving in mass: A swarm of friends congratulated him.

  4. A number of similar geologic phenomena or features occurring closely within a given period or place: a swarm of earthquakes.

v.   swarmed, swarm·ing, swarms

v.   intr.

    1. To move or emerge in a swarm.

    2. To leave a hive as a swarm. Used of bees.

  2. To move or gather in large numbers.

  3. To be overrun; teem: a riverbank swarming with insects. See Synonyms at teem1.

v.   tr.
To fill with a crowd: sailors swarming the ship's deck.

[Middle English, group of bees, from Old English swearm.]
swarm'er n.
swarm 2   (swôrm)   
v.   swarmed, swarm·ing, swarms

v.   intr.
To climb by gripping with the arms and legs.
v.   tr.
To climb (something) in this manner.

[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

swarm  (n.)
"cloud of bees or other insects," O.E. swearm, from P.Gmc. *swarmaz (cf. O.S., M.L.G. swarm, Swed. svärm, M.Du. swerm, O.H.G. swarm, Ger. Schwarm "swarm;" O.N. svarmr "tumult"), usually derived from PIE imitative base *swer- (see susurration) on notion of humming sound. But OED suggests possible connection with base of swerve and ground sense of "agitated, confused, or deflected motion." The verb meaning "to leave a hive to start another" is first recorded c.1380, from the noun.

swarm  (v.)
"to climb by clasping with the arms and legs alternately," 1550, perhaps originally a sailors' word, of uncertain origin. Also recorded as swarve (16c.) and in Northern dialects swarble, swarmle.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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