Murmuration
//ˌmɝməˈɹeɪʃən// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An act or instance of murmuring. countable, uncountable
- 2 a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech wordnet
- 3 A flock of starlings, in particular when swarming in swirling patterns. collective, countable, uncountable
""Oh! I wasted most of my morning crawling to a murmuration of starlings, which I foolishly mistook for congregation of plover.""
- 4 An emergent order in a multi-agent social system. countable, uncountable
Example
More examples"A nightly gathering of thousands of birds called a “murmuration” has captured the attention of entertainment-starved people in Northern California."
Etymology
1350–1400; Medieval Latin murmuratio (“murmuring, grumbling”). The “flock of starlings” sense is probably derived from the sound of the very large groups that starlings form at dusk.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.