What does "flock" mean?
A number of birds together in a group, such as those gathered together for the purpose of migration.
Flock
/flɑk/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A number of birds together in a group, such as those gathered together for the purpose of migration.
- Grammar: flock is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: mass, a mass of, a world of, animal group.
- Useful contrasts: disperse, individuals, isolation.
- Usage evidence: I saw a flock of birds flying aloft.
How to use "flock"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "flock" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "flock" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "flock" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "flock" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "flock" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "mass" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "flock", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A number of birds together in a group, such as those gathered together for the purpose of migration.
- 2 Coarse tufts of wool or cotton used in bedding. countable, uncountable
- 3 a group of birds wordnet
- 4 A large number of animals associated together in a group; commonly used of sheep, but (dated) also used for goats, farmed animals, and a wide variety 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."
- 5 A lock of wool or hair. countable, uncountable
"I prythee, Tom, beat Cut's saddle, put a few flocks in the point."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 a group of sheep or goats wordnet
- 7 Those served by a particular pastor or shepherd.
"But lapsed into so long a pause again / As half amazed, half frighted all his flock: [...]"
- 8 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. countable, uncountable
"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."
- 9 a church congregation guided by a pastor wordnet
- 10 A large number of people.
"The heathen […] came to Nicanor by flocks."
- 11 an orderly crowd wordnet
- 12 A religious congregation.
- 13 (often followed by ‘of’) a large number or amount or extent wordnet
Verb
- 1 To congregate in or head towards a place in large numbers. intransitive
"People flocked to the cinema to see the new film."
- 2 To coat a surface with dense fibers or particles; especially, to create a dense arrangement of fibers with a desired nap. transitive
"the sampling and elution advantages of flocked swabs versus spun swabs"
- 3 come together as in a cluster or flock wordnet
- 4 To flock to; to crowd. obsolete, transitive
"Good fellows, trooping, flocked me so."
- 5 To cover a Christmas tree with artificial snow. transitive
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 move as a crowd or in a group wordnet
- 7 To treat a pool with chemicals to remove suspended particles. transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"I saw a flock of birds flying aloft."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "flock"?
Common synonyms include: mass, a mass of, a world of, animal group, army, assemblage.
How do you use "flock" in a sentence?
I saw a flock of birds flying aloft.
How do you pronounce "flock"?
Pronounced /flɑk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
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”).